Attack on Titan: The Infinite Loops
by Leviticus Wilkes
Summary: In a world where time is broken, Titan's roam freely, and everyone is going insane, the only solace is with your friends. Even if, sometimes, they aren't where you left them. AoT, SnK, whatever you are, welcome to Yggdrasil!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, this was unexpected.**

**Alright, as much as I would love to enter the backstory in the Author's note, it is poor form to do so, so allow me to set it up in the first snippet.**

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><p>1.1<p>

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><p>Yggdrasil. The bastion of reality, a great, multidimensional computer that baffled the minds of the whole of reality. Within its code lay the foundation for not merely worlds, but an entire multiverse. Worlds of magic, ninjas, ghosts, ponies, realms that few could comprehend, and fewer could manipulate. By its very nature, its protection and operation fell into the hands of gods and goddesses, from across a million pantheons: Greek, Celtic, Norse, Hindu, Shinto, and thousands more that mere mortals could not comprehend. Within the great trees metaphorical arms was cradled the whole of reality, a twelfth dimensional beauty that contained all that was, is, and ever shall be.<p>

And then _something_ fucked it up.

In a yoctosecond, all of reality was thrown into chaos. The pantheons rallied together in a desperate attempt, interacting with the great tree the only way they knew how: with desperate coding, patches and, finally, a single, crude and even cruel compromise.

The Loops.

The loops were conceived in the final days of the stabilization, an attempt to hold the few remaining, unstable worlds together. With trepidation, seven worlds were selected, and within those worlds, seven beings were selected to stabilize the loops.

Harry Potter. Ranma Saotome. Naruto Uzumaki. Lina Inverse. Usagi Tsukino. Ichigo Kurosaki. And Shinji Ikari.

These seven humans were so blessed and so cursed to witness an eternity, unending, immortal, and forever within their home worlds, trapped within a single time period, though with some differences every now and again. In time, these worlds stabilized and the so christened _Anchors _were allowed to meet both each other, and the gods that ran their worlds. Thus, they were given three rules:

Don't go insane.

Try not to crash your loops.

And whatever you do, DO NOT ASCEND TO GODHOOD!

And so, this knowledge granted, the original seven Anchors were returned to their respective worlds, each to contemplate their own immortality. A gift and a curse.

And within the world of one Keiichi Morisato, the gods toiled. They brought new worlds into the loops, oversaw the creation of new Anchors and new _loopers_, beings that would regularly, but not always, travel through time with the Anchors. The gods became witness to their lives and how they changed the worlds around them, turning from prisoners of a time and space into masters of their time and space. And as they brought more and more worlds into creation, they met a single, fateful realm, with a strange, unassuming name.

Mega Man.

The gods turned their gaze upon this world, tried to bring it into the looping multiverse. But with each failed attempt, the world grew more unstable, until, one fateful day, a final attempt to loop it ended in disaster: the attempt failed, the world that had been fused to Mega Man obliterated in truly spectacular fashion. The shockwave enveloped all of Yggdrasil, crashing every loop in existence, and destroying what remained of the failed world that, suddenly, never was.

As the loopers came together in eulogy, the Gods returned to their work, humbled. Together, they continued their work, silently and desperately bringing new worlds online in an attempt to minimize the damage of The Crash. But alas, some worlds had also felt the blow, and in one case, had its long, amazing and tragic history obliterated.

One world, named Attack on Titan.

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><p>Ganesha nodded to the humming, death blue computer screen. "You see my problem, yes?"<p>

Hephaestus nodded in worried affirmation. "I do admit, I've seen similar scenarios, at least in part, but this one world has to be the worst yet, all the worst issues. High mortality rate, low sanity across the board, and the gaps in even our knowledge... damn."

Ganesha ran a hand across his trunk and groaned in frustration. With the failed attempt at looping the Mega Man worlds, several new loops had to be activated pronto, and this world had been ordained by Zeus to his care. However, as each attempt failed, and each failure destabilized the loop further, Ganesha was realizing that Zeus hadn't given him a loop: he'd dumped it on him. "We can't rely on a stable anchor, can't use a proxy anchor like the Triforce, can't kick start it with a fused loop..."

The god of the forge clasped his hands together and opened up a simulation program with his mind. As he watched, the current anchor candidate, Eren Yeager, flew around on what could best be described as steampunk web shooters, trying to kill giant zombie kaiju with duel swords, before transforming into one, only to be shot at by the soldiers of Wall Maria. "This loop... it has so much potential. So many brilliant people, so much consideration of the human condition. Of what great and terrible things they can do." With a cracking of his joints, Hephaestus began typing. "We must get this world looping."

Ganesha nodded in thoughtful agreement, staring at the appearing code as his partner began formulating a new looping scenario, thoughtful. 'We have to find a system to keep the anchor alive until the end. So way of ensuring that at least that one person...' The thought cracked into her head like lightning, illuminating the possibilities in a single, glorious flash. "EUREKA!"

Hephaestus turned to the elephant god, who spoke in fervent, rapid words. "We've been going about this all wrong. We've been trying to get a single anchor established, but if we select several, and require that each be awake for a loop, then we triple the power of the anchor. They can rely upon each other: become a team. If we can select the correct team, establish the best possible loopers, then maybe, just maybe, we can begin. Not one solid anchor: three nebulous anchors"

Hephaestus nodded, seemingly agreeing. What he said then did not fill Ganesha with confidence.

"I'm sorry, but you've deafened me. Could you explain that again?"

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><p>Armin ambled up to Annie Leonheart, smiling in the most disarming manner he could manage. The mood, set helpfully by a slight breeze, a cool summer wind, and the wide expanse of grass around them, helped. "Hey, Annie, I've been meaning to ask you something."<p>

The blonde saboteur, Titan shifter, and possibly Marco's murderer was totally unaffected by Armin's charms. "What do you need Armin?"

Armin's left eye flashed into the strange, archaic symbol of his hypnotic Geass. _**"I was wondering if you could kill yourself. Would you kindly?"**_

Annie didn't even fight herself as she reached down for her sword and drew it. Armin naturally turned away, and began searching for a discrete place to throw up.

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><p>Most soldiers considered Captain Levi Ackerman to be Humanity's greatest weapon, a tool of unmatched power and ferocity that was unleashed unto the Titans with extreme prejudice. Many had seen his work, his power. Many more had heard of it, in the quiet, awed tones that only the truly inspired could conjure. Not a small number owed their lives to this great, powerful man.<p>

As for the few soldiers that weren't "most soldiers", they were currently in awe of one Mikasa Ackerman as she worked her deadly trade in Trost.

The half Asian teenager landed a few feet away from the gathered soldiers, casually drinking and taking bets from the safety of the rooftop. "Reload." With one word, Mikasa managed to conjure a dozen blades from her fellows, before, with a blade in each hand and one in her teeth, launching herself back into the fray. None of the assembled rushed to help her, since she had currently racked up a total Titan kill count not merely unheard of, but so unbelievable that they few officers that did arrive to try and order their men to assist her were stunned into silence as they took in the gigantic pile of Titan corpses, near literally a mountain of them.

On the front lines, Mikasa shattered another set of blades killing the Colossal Titan, all the while casually deciding that, when the time came;

'_I'll need to get some better swords.'_

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><p>Eren Yeager watched as the Armored Titan, alias one Reiner Braun, charged at the gate of Wall Maria, feverish thoughts running through his head.<p>

_'I have power.'_

The Armored Titan was closing in.

_'I can change things.'_

The cobblestone roadway shattered underneath the Titan's feet.

_'I can choose to help, or to destroy.'_

The Soldiers were turning, running for the closing gate.

_'I will destroy him.'_

Eren cocked back an arm.

_'They said I was crazy.'_

A massive, green forearm shot forward and halted the Armored Titan in its tracks.

_'Well who's crazy now!?'_

Aloud, he roared.

"EREN SMASH!"

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><p>1.2 zeusdemigod131 (Ben Ten)<p>

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><p><strong>Attack on To'kustar<strong>

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><p>Year 845<p>

Mikasa Ackerman, Eren Jaeger, and Armin Arlet watched in horror as the skinless head of an enormous titan appeared over Wall Maria. Citizens ran in panic around them, and as the wall shook from what they assumed was a kick they knew that the walls were nothing more than a cage, and humanity was-

"I still don't see what all the fuss is about." The three friends watched as a red fin rose above the titans head, followed by a red and white head, and a portion of the creature's chest.

"What is that thing!?" Mikasa shouted.

"Did it just, talk?" Armin wondered.

"I fought squids bigger than this guy." The titan slowly turned to see the creature standing behind it, when it saw it, its eyes went wide.

The creature smiled and grabbed the titan by its head, lifting the entire thing off the ground, much to the Titans dismay. "Mind if I ask you something?" Positioning its hands on the center of the titans back and the nap of its neck, the creature turned around. "I know you're an abnormal or something, and feel free not to answer this, but can you fly?"

The titan continued to squirm, trying to escape.

"Guess there's only one way to find out then," The creature took a few giant steps away from the wall and stopping a good distance from the city, began to spin, a feat quite impressive for a being of its size, and tossed the titan into the distance, the great beast hissing as it flew.

The creature whistled as it watched the titan fly, then mimicked a crashing sound as it disappeared over the horizon.

Then it did the last thing anyone expected, it turned back around, smiled, and waved at the city, before hitting a strange symbol on its chest and disappearing in a flash of green.

Inside the walls, everyone had stopped panicking and were in a state of shock and disbelief.

"What... what just happened?" Armin asked aloud.

No one had an answer.

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><p>"Really Ben? You're not gonna tell them anything?" Gwen asked her cousin, now that they were safely within Wall Maria, she was wondering just what his plan was for this Loop.<p>

"Nah," Ben answered, leaning back in his chair. "If that thing shows up again, I'll just go Way Big and drop kick him into orbit."

"But what about the rest of those things?" Kevin asked. "They're still outside the wall."

Ben shrugged and his cousin glared at him. "Ben." She said.

The bearer of the Omnitrix sighed and twiddled his watch. "Fine, this weekend I'll head out and do some population control as Diamondhead, I doubt these things can bite through crystal."

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><p>A few days later, Gwen and Kevin watched as Ben encased titan after titan in a crystal cocoon, his assumption that they wouldn't be able to eat him had actually turned out right, slightly to Kevin's disappointment, as he had bet Gwen that something akin to a kid chewing on rock candy was going to happen.<p>

Meanwhile, atop Wall Maria, Dot Pixis watched as some crystal... thing, attacked titan after titan.

"Cadet," He turned to one of the guards. "When he's done down there see if you can recruit him." The eccentric officer grinned. "That's exactly the kind of man I want on my personal detail."

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><p>1.3<p>

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><p>Eren stood at the edge of Wall Rose, carefully and deliberately plugging in his guitar. Behind him, Mikasa plugged in her own base, while Armin finished setting up the drums. Surrounding them were most of the 104th, some abjectly terrified of the massive hole Bertolt had kicked in the wall, most drawing swords and concluding that Eren, Mikasa and Armin had gone mad.<p>

Through the sun glared hole stepped a Titan, great maw smiling, rank hair shaking with each step, stone cracking beneath it. With a roar of ferocity the 104th...

Was promptly silenced by Eren, letting loose a guitar rift that travelled down the wire and through the speakers, slamming the Titan with a rarified wall of hard rock.

Eren shifted gears and opened up a Nirvana track, The Man who Sold the World. The softer tones washed over the approaching Titans, vibrating them with pulses of sound. Armin modulated the sounds, down shifting to shake the Titans on an atomic level. Several Titans literally melted.

And then Mikasa began her solo, and very neatly and decisively destroyed the Titans.

As the mini band wound down, several of the less terrified or amazed members of the 104th began calling for an encore. Amongst them, Dot Pixis had somehow located a cigarette lighter and was waving it in an appreciative motion.

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow at Eren, who exchanged a glance with Armin. The point decided, the three started up again, this time going for a more...

Metal approach.

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><p>Several hours later, the Survey corp finished rounding up the last of the Titans that the Shiganshina Trio's metal had brainwashed. Most were able to keep straight faces, but between the face paint, the hairdos, and the tee-shirts, several had to retire every few minutes to get the chuckles out of their system.<p>

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><p>1.4 XeroM52 (Skull Girls)<p>

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><p>Skullgirls<p>

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><p>"My, my, what a dreadful world I find myself in." Eliza, celebrity diva and Parasite Host for Sekhmet, said as she looked around the surrounding area. "I wonder if I'll find something worthy of eating." Ever since she began Looping, she had taken this as an opportunity to 'expand her horizons', discover exciting new things, view beautiful places, and met exotic creatures to eat them. Sure people took an exception of her feeding, but what they ignored is that she couldn't control herself. She needed to consume blood for her to keep on living, to keep looking this young and healthy.<p>

"Hm. They treat me like a monster." Heck, everyone kept telling her she was just Dio Brando in female form. "Mh…Dio-Darling, I miss you so." She didn't mind the comparison since Dio was such a beautiful man, with a body sculpted by the gods themselves and a charm that surpassed the devil itself. "I can't wait to meet you again…" Despite her 'inclination' towards him, Eliza knew that Dio was a man of insatiable ambitions while she just practiced Hedonism religiously; meaning that both of their natures prevented them from having 'something' more than what they had; 'Friends' with 'benefits' without necessarily being 'Friends'.

"But enough thinking about my 'stress reliever', I need to know where I am." Or see if they were other Loopers that would spoil her fun. It seemed that her name was doing been passed around and Loopers had been expecting her, ready to put her down. Luckily for her the Multiverse was big enough that there were people who still weren't privy of her identity.

"Mm…grassy plains and lots of trees as far as I can see…" Meaning she had to 'walk' by herself. "Mou…Why can't Albus and Horace be here with me? They could carry my around." Eliza complained while pouting. Only plebeians walked towards they wanted to go; she was a Queen, she should be carried by those beneath her. "Once again I'm forced to endure such woes."

Suddenly Eliza felt how the ground beneath her started to rumble. "A tremor?" she wondered for just a second. "No. The rhythm is different, this feels like…" like footsteps. Turning around she found a massive bipedal creature ten times her stature that resembled humans, except for the lack of sex organs, and the strange deformities that plagued its body.

"What an ugly creature you are." Eliza turned her head disgusted by the sight of the approaching creature. "And by the looks of it you are but a mindless beast." Her suspicions were proven by the creature lack of intelligent response. "Well, beggars can't be choosers I suppose…you are going to be my means of transport this Loop."

The creature, known by others as a Titan, kept on walking towards Eliza, not really understanding anything besides his desire to consume humans.

"I guess I'll have to train you before you can even be useful." Eliza said with disappointment but also slight intrigue. It had seen a LONG time since she had trained a pet before. "Now, kneel!" she ordered as she lifted and then brought her hand down. The Titan who had been mindlessly walking came to a sudden stop before dropping on his knees and into the floor.

"That's lying down, but good first try." She commented before giving another order. "Now kneel!" After her command was given, the Titan moved unnaturally until it managed to kneel correctly. "Good! Now how about you give me your hand?" she asked as if talking with a dog.

The Titan, if it could be capable of intelligent thought, would've wondered why was it that his body was moving all on its own and against his own will. But since he really couldn't question anything, he let himself follow what his body dictated him to do and he offered his hand to the woman.

"Good boy." Eliza felicitated him as she hopped onto his open palm. "Now, carry me while you walk…over there!" she commanded while pointing to a random direction. "Let's hope we find civilization or something to eat, you…" Eliza trailed off for a second. "I might have to think of a name for you." Well, if he managed to last more than two weeks, she might give him one. "Now go!" And with that Eliza was carried by the massive Titan in look for some people to eat.

'_This Bloodbending sure comes in handy.'_

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><p>1.5 (Legend of Zelda)<p>

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><p>Sometimes, you just knew that you were in for a really, really bad loop. Sure sometimes that realization came too little too late, but every so often, Link's impressively well-developed sense of danger informed him of such facts. Other times though, it was the world around him that managed to inform him of its general level of suck.<p>

This loop had the distinction of filling both categories within a matter of seconds. Yes, Link was in for a hard loop.

Link Awoke in an alley, smaller than usual and clothed in a few raggedy coats and moth eaten pants. Neither really did much to disguise the fact he felt as though he had been sleeping in dank alleys for most of his life, but they certainly helped keep him warm. Above him, the sun had already sunk low in the west, forcing the city walls to cast long shadows, while a cool breeze swept through the street, indicating twilight was almost upon them.

Link got to his feet and took stock of his body. Small, with short arms and legs, and an oversized head in comparison. All were indicators of youth, and thus he guessed his age to be about twelve. Link then turned his scrutiny outwards, scanning the cobbled street, checking the area against his own encyclopedic knowledge of technological eras.

Large houses, crammed close together, with only a handful of unlit torches that would provide illumination at night...

...Wait, walls?

It was then that Link's loop memories kicked in, as he stared in gob-smacked awe of what his mind told him where 50 meter tall stone walls, constructs so enormous that until his Awakening in the loop, he had revered them as gifts from god, if not gods themselves.

_'Those things are huge... And they surround an entire NATION!'_

Link continued to stare at the impressive feat of human engineering, utterly amazed at the constructs before him, so completely engorged by the shocked and entrancing wonder that the enormous wall, absolutely lost in awe of what his memories deemed Wall Rose...

...that he completely missed the twelve year old blonde being beaten up by three guys not twenty paces to the left him.

Of course, when said blonde cried out in pain from a particularly vicious right hook to the jaw, Link had enough sense to turn and see that someone was being beaten up in a rather one-sided three on one fight. Thus, Link took the necessary actions.

Namely, he got a running start and kneed the guy who was holding the blonde in the face, leaving a sickening crack as he broke the bullies' nose and knocking the bully off the blonde and onto the cobblestone street.

Link didn't really do what he did next in any particular way, certainly not in any manner that would require or suggest an adjective to be present to describe the action; he just stepped between the bullies and the blonde, intent to stop them from hurting the kid.

"Hey, wants the big deal bozo?" The lead bully growled from on the street. "Get out of our way so we can teach that little heretic a lesson."

Link rolled his eyes and slipped into a fighting stance. Three kids versus the Hero of Hyrule with hundreds of years of experience? Get real, they were going down.

"STOP THAT!"

Link, the blonde, and the bullies all turned in the direction of the horse, youthful shout. Running down the road were two more kids. "WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The bullies lined up all grins and muscle, looking like a ludicrous impression of a phalanx. "It's Eren. This time around, he's out for our blood, the little prick," one of the bullies said. Another was more observant however.

"He's got Mikasa with him! WE'RE SCREWED!"

And just like that, the bullies ran like cowards, leaving Link and the blonde to wonder what was happening. The boy, Eren, stopped and smirked, red faced and huffing. "Ohh...look at them...the mere sight of me and they scurry like rats." Eren sucked in another breath to satiate his burning lungs.

"N-not quite," the blonde said, actually quite surprising Link with his voice. He had thought... But the blond continued. "They ran away when they saw Mikasa, more like... ow."

Link stepped back as Eren and the Asian girl, Mikasa crowded in on their friend. "Hey, you okay Armin?" Eren stuck out his hand, but Armin, instead of taking it... tear up. Armin struggled up, leaning heavily on buildings wall.

"I don't need help to stand..." Armin got up and looked at Link. "Thanks...?"

Link just shrugged. "You're welcome."

Eren glanced from Armin to Link and coughed into his hand. "Maybe we should get out of here..."

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><p>"...and then I told them that humanity would need to go outside one day. That's when they started hitting me." Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Link sat forlornly by the long river that ran through the town of Shiganshina, brooding. Link checked the story against his loop memories, and growled angrily and with shame at himself. His memories told him he had been an orphan, a street urchin, for his entire memorable life, quietly raising himself and living off of scraps he could find and, when that was too hard for him, from charity at the local Wallist church.<p>

His feelings stemmed not solely from Armin's little speech about how he'd been beaten, but also from his memories telling him that, had he not woken up literally a minute before Eren and Mikasa arrived, he probably would've joined in the bullies beating. Suffice to say, his pre-awake self-had been a bit of a jerk.

"Thank you, for helping me."

Link jolted out of his introspection. The three kids were all looking at him, various degrees of gratitude and confusion etched in their faces. "We never did ask you name..." Armin prompted.

Link shrugged. "Link."

Eren raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you help Armin, Link?"

Link mirrored the look. The three kids were all looking at him as if anyone showing genuine kindness or empathy to a complete stranger was well out of the norm. Of course, his loop memories quickly collaborated to remind him that it* was*. More evidently though, his memories told him that Armin was being heretical, suggesting that humanity leave the safety of the walls and venture out into 'their' territory.

It was then that Link remembered another fact about the walls. They were basically living through a zombie apocalypse, albeit, one where the zombies were three to fifteen meter tall monstrosities that weren't rotting and didn't come from a virus affecting humans.

"Hey, Link?"

Link jolted out of his thoughts again at Eren's voice. "Eh?"

Eren minutely glared at him. "Why. Did you. Help Armin?" Now Mikasa and Armin were fidgeting in apprehension.

Link shrugged. "I'm a nice guy. That's about it. Do I need a reason?"

The three ten year olds collectively blinked. Link rolled his eyes, laid back on the grassy riverbank, and decided to let his companions figure things out. Eren took Link's prompt and got into an argument with his sister, which lasted up until Armin said this:

"The wall may not have broken in one hundred years, but that's no guarantee that it won't happen today, and still..."

Link opened an eye and sat up, both actions done to more effectively glare at Armin. "Armin?"

The blond flinched at the strength of the glare, resulting in Eren and Mikasa glaring at Link. "Yes?"

Link leaned in. "You do know you've just doomed us all, right?"

_BOOM_

The ground shook and bucked for a moment, almost as if some great force had appeared to rend the very fabric of the peaceful life the walls tenuously held. The four children stood up.

"What was...?"

There, rising from a cloud of steam just beyond wall Rose, was a Titan. A monstrosity so huge that it just surpassed the wall's height of fifty meters. It dwarfed the humans cowering in its sight. With and almighty shift of its leg, the skinless, colossal monster readied, and then loosed a kick that effortlessly destroyed one hundred years of peace.

And a big chunk of the wall as well.

_'Yup, this loop is gonna suck,'_ Link thought.

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><p>1.6 Crossoverpairinglover<p>

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><p>It's great and massive head stood above the great wall Maria, an entity so terrifying that all who spotted it stopped in their tracks.<p>

For one hundred years the wall had kept them at bay, giving them peace of mind, if always a semi state on unease. But now, that was over.

They were coming...

And with a massive kick, the wall fell.

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><p>"THE KANGAROOS HAVE BROKEN THROUGH!"<p>

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"

The trio of loopers, however, weren't freaking out, and instead just stared in shock as titan sized Kangaroos hopped into Shiganshina.

"Kangaroos...we were brought to the edge of extinction by Kangaroos...MARSUPIALS!" Eren demanded in fury as they continued to hop inside "We are the superior mammals, we drive their kind to extinction, not the other way around! Who the hell is responsible for this!?"

"...Maybe the admin for those dragons is subbing, I heard they get strange shit like this all the time" Armin suggested "And Eren...why the hate on Marsupials all the sudden?"

"I have no desire to turn into a giant Kangaroo..." Eren began, before a piece of debris from a Kangaroo's actions slammed into him and caused him to bleed, followed by a massive burst of light from the now falling Eren.

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><p>As the 'Rogue Kangaroo', aka the Kangaroo counterpart to Eren's normal titan form, continued to brutalize any Kangaroo he came across with extreme prejudice, Armin looked to Mikasa, who had decided to sit this one out because she could tell Eren needed to vent his frustration out on the marsupial monstrosities "I take it this loop goes under the category of 'We don't talk about it again'"<p>

"Correct"

"Just like that loop where someone was stealth anchoring, only you and I were awake and everyone's genders were..."

"Correct"

"Or that loop where Sasha was a Titan sh..."

"..."

"Okay okay, I'll stop talking about loops we agreed not to talk about again"

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><p>1.7 Crossoverpairinglover<p>

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><p><strong>The Mikasa Army<strong>

"...I don't know how I should react to this"

Even before he had begun looping, Eren had seen some pretty nasty stuff. Your mother being eaten by a gigantic freak of nature would do that to you.

Since he began looping, he had been a humanoid reindeer and a giant green rage monster, not to mention that rather strange loop called Eiken, though he would bet that it had been caused by Armin Geassing Annie

But this may be the strangest thing yet.

"Why are there three Mikasa's Eren?" Armin asked the golden question as the three (Who were around the age they were during the battle of Trost, yet the wall had yet to be breached and Eren's mother was still alive) Mikasas just blinked at them.

"I'm just as lost as you are" Eren admitted as the Mikasa to the right glared at the other two.

"Alright, what the hell are you two!"

"I could ask you the same question!" demanded the middle Mikasa

"What a fake scarf. To think you would go so far as to fake such a thing, you horrible people. Have you no sympathy?"

The left one's comment caused the other two Mikasas to pause, briefly hold their scarves in their hands as if the left Mikasa had just stabbed their child in front of their eyes repeatedly, before they flew at left Mikasa in a rage that was normally reserved for Eren when dealing with large human consuming monsters, though only with fists.

As the three way brawl of the Mikasas waged, the two loopers just nervously starred.

"Eren, you know her better than anyone, why don't you just get them to stand still long enough for you to figure out which is the real one?"

"That's the problem, I'm not sure I can figure it out. They act far too much alike..."

"Well, than you give those fakes too much credit Eren"

Armin and Eren jumped in the air a few good feet, and the Mikasas ceased their fight (Which had one Mikasa in a headlock while kicking the non-restraining Mikasa who was going to punch the head locking Mikasa) to stare at the fourth Mikasa who had just appeared beside Eren as if she had always been there.

"Okay, what the hell Admins!?" Armin demanded

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><p>A few hours later, and there were now 20 Mikasas, all lined up like the Training Corps would as Eren walked in front of them, with a contemplative look on his face. For some level of simplicity, he had had Armin give them each a number, (Though not 1), as to be able to make things more simple.<p>

"You all look the same, talk the same and react to people who accidentally drop their chamber pot waste on me the same way" Eren did his best imitation of a drill sergeant, trying not to recall that incident, or what happened to the poor guy who didn't watch where he threw his waste "However, there is one sure fire way to figure out which of you is the real Mikasa...you!" he pointed to Mikasa number 6 "What were we doing on the original go around when the Titans attacked!?"

"We were gathering firewood, after which we saw the Survey Corps return from a failed mission, saved Armin from some bullies, you got yelled out when I blurted out you were planning on joining the Survey Corps and you fell asleep under a tree"

Eren nodded, before he turned and pointed at Mikasa 18 "What did Sasha do during the first meeting of the 104th training corps!?"

"She was eating a potato she had taken from the mess hall. She offered part of it to the sergeant, who promptly banned her from meals for several days and made her run several laps"

Eren looked a little uneasy now "Mikasa 13, during the loop I was Bruce Banner..."

"I recruited you to help track down Loki in India, shortly after which you befriended Tony Stark, whose life you saved during the battle of New York. During said battle, you punched 5 leviathans to a pulp, got shot at approximately 5804 times by ground Chitauri troops and beat up Loki before calling him a puny excuse for a titan"

Armin looked terrified at this "...They all have the same memories..."

"And because Mikasa had been out of the house when the loop began, we can't even use that as a way to find the original Mikasa" Eren just looked depressed now at being unable to find his sister in all but blood, in a literal sea of her.

Of course, at the look of her brother looking that depressed, the Mikasa horde did stop plotting to kill each other in a duel to the death.

The only reason they didn't go over to physically comfort him is the fact that they sensed that would probably do more harm than good right now.

"So...how do you plan on explaining to your folks about their suddenly expanded family" Armin attempted to lighten the rather uneasy mood.

* * *

><p>Kalura Yeager just glared at her husband at the sight of how she had suddenly gained at least two dozen daughters.<p>

"...The rate is decreasing, I'm sure there will only be 50 of them at the most" Grisha admitted. Apparently there was something odd about the particularly anti-smallpox medicine he had put in the water supply.

Eren and the Mikasa horde resisted the urge to glare at him. Even after so many loops, they weren't exactly sure what he was up to. The problem with a loop filled with giant man eating monsters and a lot of instability means that even the most minute things could end the loop.

Killing Annie and the other shifters, not joining the Survey Corps, Eren titan shifting during the battle for Wall Maria, Armin inventing electricity...to say they rarely got far was an understatement.

Particularly when Eren had a bad habit of being executed after the Trost Battle.

* * *

><p>"Eren, as your appointed Minister of the Interior, I have to tell you this was a bad call and it can't end well at all. Coups never end well"<p>

"Oh come on Armin, the loop hasn't crashed yet"

King Eren the First, new Monarch of the Walls and his royal protection force of 49 Mikasas, strolled through his new castle (still being cleaned of the Military Police who had objected to the coup to remove the corruption in the walls by formerly greedy nobles) with Minster Armin, looking rather proud with himself.

It really was amazing what you could accomplish with 49 Looping Mikasas, a Titan Shifter and the Survey Corps deciding that they didn't care who was in charge.

* * *

><p>The Colossal Titan stood tall over Wall Maria, looking rather terrifying and ready to cause untold destruction to all before him.<p>

At least until a squad of Mikasa's stabbed him in the eye and caused him to fall off the wall, at which point non shifter Titans began to attack him.

The 'poor thing' promptly ran for his life

* * *

><p>1.8 Detective Ethan Redfield<p>

* * *

><p>So Hannes is insane this loop," Eren asked to Mikasa as they passed beyond the guard station, just out of earshot.<p>

The Asian shrugged, "I overheard the guards talking about it, suggesting that he had some bad malt beer a couple nights ago. After downing another drink, he started freaking out, going on about how the _'Titans would kill them all and such nonsense_.' He then started getting violent when the others tried to restrain him."

Eren shook his head, "We should see him, maybe talk to his commander and see if he can be moved to the interior. I'd hate to leave him languishing in prison when Maria falls."

Sadly, Maria almost always fell. If Eren managed to stop the colossus Titan, the Armored Titan would smash his way around the district instead. Furthermore, it was difficult to pin down Bertolt and Reiner's positions since they always changed. Most often, however, he would awake just as the Titan appeared above the wall in time to smash the entrance to the district.

Mikasa nodded, "We should also see him."

* * *

><p>The two met up with Armin later that day and headed to the garrison headquarters. With a quick application of Naruto's transformation jutsu into Dot Pixis and two underlings, they were allowed entrance. After passing through into the holding cell, Armin, who took Pixis' appearance since he was more skilled at copying Pixis' character, dismissed the other Garrison soldiers. They looked on Hannes, who looked like a broken man. His eyes were vacant as he spoke in a hollow tone, "Come to mock me, the guy who lost his mind? Well get it over with. You'll get yours soon, when the Titans breach the wall, you'll see I was right."<p>

The three exchanged glances, nodded as one and released their transformations. Hannes blinked as he looked up, life returning to his eyes along with surprise, "You guys, it can't be...how did you get in here?"

Armin bent over the soldier, "Hannes, do you remember a colossal titan breaching Wall Maria? Eren's mom's death? Being promoted to captain of wall Rose?"

Each one, Hannes eyes lit up as he nodded. The blonde haired boy gave a smile, "Well then, welcome to the loops. Time is repeating itself for us too."

Hannes sighed in relief, "So I'm neither crazy, nor have I been poisoned by bad beer. And I was eaten by a Titan too," wincing slightly at the memory, "Damn, that hurt."

Armin returned to the other two anchors, "We were probably replaced during your first loop then, since we don't let that titan eat you much anymore.

His eyes turned to the anchors, "Much?"

Eren shrugged, "We've had a few times you were evil, a titan infiltrator, or...well we don't mention the others. Don't ask, we don't like talking about it."

Hannes took it in as best as he could, but then the current situation caught up to him, "We can't let Maria fall! Hundreds will die here, and thousands in the coming weeks."

The three looked uncomfortable, "We're trying, even now, to find Reiner and Bertolt, but they're...elusive. Narrative causality is a powerful thing in some loops."

And then the screaming began. Eren cursed while Armin took on the disguise of Dot Pixis. A second later, the other two joined him. Mikasa looked at Hannes, "Follow our lead, and we'll explain everything after we've evacuated the district."

* * *

><p>After ordering the release of Hannes into their care, the three anchors told Hannes to help evacuate the civilians. With another application of their Jutsu, the three sported survey cloaks and rushed to the breach to buy time for the district's evacuation<p>

* * *

><p>1.9 (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)<p>

* * *

><p>A mare and two stallions by the names of Titanic Hunter, Long Strategy, and one who was the proud owner of the absolutely badass name; Dreadnought Reaper. These were the casual names were Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. And right now, they were getting on stage quite reluctantly. "How did we get roped into this again Armin?"<p>

The blond maned stallion shrugged as he pulled out a drum set. "I think it had something to do with your bet against Harry over who could annoy Umbridge more."

Eren tossed a spare guitar at the aforementioned wizard, who simply opened his subspace pocket and dropped the instrument in. "This is all his fault. Stupid wizards."

Mikasa plugged her own base into the stereos provided by Vinyl Scratch. "Should we lead with our theme?"

Eren chuckled smoothly. "Sure, why not. Armin?"

Armin smirked with a touch of confidence. "Let's do this. Mares and stallions, ladies and gentlemen, Guren no Yumiya!"

_"Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!"_

* * *

><p>1.10 Crossoverpairinglover (Harry Potter)<p>

* * *

><p>Harry Potter idly was tapping his foot as these new loopers took far too long to get through the sorting...or should it be said...one particular looper.<p>

There were three loopers who had their first Hogwarts loop this loop; Armin, Eren and Mikasa. They apparently came from a reality where giant human monsters were roaming around, eating every human in sight.

Sounded like a Zombie Apocalypse loop, only worse.

Anyway, Mikasa was first up under the hat, and had been under there for about 20 minutes.

The sounds of growling stomachs suggested that everyone else was growing hungry, and thus impatient.

Harry had no idea what was taking so long, perhaps Mikasa was a rather complicated person who the hat was deeply engaged in discussing the deep details of her psyche...

"Yeager, Eren" the Hat called out all of a sudden, as the crowds murmured for a moment as one of the other loopers ran out of the line and up to the hat, which was removed from Mikasa's head and placed on his own.

"Gryffindor" the hat quickly shouted out for Eren, which was placed back on Mikasa's hat, which shouted out "Gryffindor" quicker than it did with Malfoy for Slytherin.

With the murmurings continuing as the sorting attempted to get back on track (Despite the lengthy delay), Harry made a mental note to put effort on getting the Hat to start looping to speed this ceremony up (For baseline and non-baseline students alike)

If this ended up happening again, he was going to have to eat Goyle. Or was he just hungrier than normal after having looped as a solar powered robot, thus having not eaten in over 10 years.

The bonus of the hat mixing the students up every so often being both a potential boon, and problem of that choice.

* * *

><p>1.11 Crossoverpairinglover and Wildrook (Harry Potter)<p>

* * *

><p>"You will write, 'I shall not suggest the murder of purebloods absolved of any criminal wrongdoings by a proper court of wizard law' 100 times Mr. Yeager. I must say, you are a rather disturbed little muggleborn wizard for even suggesting that"<p>

The brown haired Gryffindor shrugged, before he did in fact reach for the quill.

"Well, at least you listen to proper authority once in a while..."

Dolores stopped talking, however, once he did take the first cut from the quill, which resulted in a big flash of red lightning that turned the boy into some sort of giant monster with huge eyes that was staring her down.

The creature that was once the mudblood smirked as Dolores felt a great amount of panic at the face of the 'Compact Rogue Titan' form.

* * *

><p>"In my defense," Eren replied, "she practically gave me a metaphorical gun in my hand with that thing and was just ASKING for me to pull the trigger. So I just decided to oblige her request."<p>

"I don't recall her acting like a crazy duck and yelling 'Shoot me! Frogs' Legs is on the menu!'" Harry said.

* * *

><p>1.12 Crossoverpairinglover<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Equation?<strong>

_594 divided by 2040 times 32.6434 minus Rogue Titan's weight squared by Colossal Titan height minus Potato to the 104th power times trans temporal geometric rule number eleven to the power of three dimensional Omni movement divided among 34 cadets plus 40495X to the power of royalty divided by 60 T multiplied by 3 plus Captain Levi's age to the power of Zoe's gender minus (Pixis divided by Armored Titan diameter)... _

Eren had a dazed look in his eye from trying to read even part of the seemingly random list of things that Armin had filled an entire cave in that he had somehow managed to locate during their training period this loop (Which was really, really boring, even with shadow clones) while Mikasa just stared at Armin and his giant cave...something in confusion and not a minute amount of concern "What is...whatever that is?"

"It, is an equation" Armin simply stated

"You've been enjoying those High School fused loops too much" Eren muttered

"Oh come on Eren, this equation came to me in a dream. It's the answer"

Eren and Mikasa exchanged a concerned look "To if we need to visit that loop with those magical horses for that 'therapy' thing?"

"No, it's an equation for looping" Armin grinned.

'Or a loopy equation,' the concerned thought went through both their minds simultaneously.

"With this, I can figure out who's going to start looping next" Armin continued, sounding a bit out of character...he probably did need a break in a peaceful loop. Ponies, talking trains, maybe a nuclear loving Ghandi...something like that "Under every variable. Did you know...?"

As Armin began babbling about the best way to get Levi, Sasha, Ymir, Historia or a female Dot Pixis looping, his companions briefly considered mercy ending the loop and hoping for a fused loop with therapists around.

* * *

><p>Eventually deciding against it, Mikasa had simply knocked Armin out and dragged him back to the cadet quarters to hopefully have him sleep off the crazy mad thinker routine, they arrived back to...a frankly strange sight.<p>

Connie was out cold on the ground, with Sasha nibbling on his thin head of hair. Annie was spinning around like a caffeine crazed ballerina. Reiner was banging his head against a post repeatedly. Bertolt was on the roof for some reason, singing about moose. The sergeant was giving Krista/Historia an affectionate noogie, with the girl looking dizzy like someone who could not hold her liquor.

And Ymir...

"HIII!"

Was in their faces with a huge grin that was more appropriate on Luffy, rubber stretching effect included.

"HOW'S IT GOING!? DID YOU HAVE A GOOD WALK IN THE WOODS!? YOU MISSED DINNER, DINNER WAS GOOD! GOOD! OH, THE WORLD IS SUCH A HAPPY AND WONDERFUL PLACE, IT MAKES ME JUST WANT TO HUG EVERYONE!"

And she promptly did in fact hug the two of them, and the Armin that Mikasa was carrying under her arm like a small bag of flour.

The two 'sane' cadets exchanged concerned looks.

Something weird was going on. There had been something in that food they missed while they went out and got rid of the future Trost 'Commander' Gorman (AKA, the guy who abandoned trainees to the Titans), that Armin had stayed behind to eat to work on his research.

Hopefully it was temporary...Ymir's bear hugs hurt.

* * *

><p>1.13 Crossoverpairinglover and Wildrook (Naruto)<p>

* * *

><p>"The match between Mikasa Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga will now begin!" the announcer in the Chunin Exams declared loudly as Naruto, who had woken up a few hours ago to find himself older (and Hokage, very awesome...though the fact he had Orochimaru sitting next to him disguised as the Kazekage while planning to kill him and raze Konoha to the ground did lessen that awesomeness)<p>

It took him a moment to realize exactly what was about to happen.

Making a gesturing motion, his head ANBU (Harry as it was), appeared beside him in a teleportation jutsu/apparition, similarly aged up and wearing a stag mask.

"Correct me if I am wrong ANBU" Naruto continued to play the part (it was funnier that way) as he checked with his fellow looper "But didn't Miss Uzumaki promise on the heavily injured body of Eren Hyuga to avenge his brutal defeat by Neji?"

"Yes she did sir, though sadly Eren has yet to wake up from his coma" Harry replied in a trained tone of voice that masked the specifics of their conversation. The last thing they needed was a Looping Orochimaru because he got interested and then Murphy's Law acted against them.

"This is going to be a horribly bloody...oh my god!" Harry swore as he saw how ticked off Mikasa was this loop.

And he thought he was brutal in that variant loop where he clawed Neji's face off with Kyuubi Chakra (and without the hidden intent of removing the Caged Bird Seal permanently). Mikasa took the cake when it came to avenging Hinata or Hinata replacements.

He really hoped Neji didn't wake up this loop...this was probably a loop he'd want to sit out.

* * *

><p>"For lack of a better term..." Neji muttered.<p>

"Ow."

* * *

><p>1.7 Crossoverpairinglover (Star Wars)<p>

* * *

><p>"...You know, this has happened before young man" Obi-Wan commented to the short blond apprentice he had gained for this loop (and unlike Anakin, he could in fact have other apprentices that were not Ahsoka or another Skywalker without causing such horrors as Kiss Gunji, Kamina-Barriss and Russian Petro), who frowned as he took out several books from his subspace pocket.<p>

"Perhaps, but has anyone taken such extensive notes on its effects in and after the loop it occurred in? Plus, no one had named it before."

Obi-Wan force grabbed some of the notes and began scrolling through the details of what was titled _'The Mikasa Glitch'._ "Hmmm...you definitely took a lot of detailed notes, I'll give you that. Though, do you have anything to get the two of them to shut up?"

Those two in question were Anakin Skywalker, and a female Anakin Skywalker who currently had the male Skywalker in a headlock.

"Who the hell are you, imposter!"

"Imposter! How dare you! It is kind of obvious I am the real one, I don't have breasts!"

"Stop hitting yourself!" Obi-Wan shouted at them on impulse.

"Make me old man!" they both yelled, before they resumed glaring at each other in more fury.

The visiting looper, one Armin Arlert, (or was it Arlet) who had first written down the specifics of the Mikasa glitch turned a few pages in his notes and quoted; "Those affected by this glitch will be incredibly confused about why there are more of them than there are supposed to be. Violence is likely, particularly when they get into arguments about who is the real one or the looper in question is naturally prone to violence. The fact they all have the same memories and emotions makes this hard to determine outside of gender alteration."

Obi-Wan watched with a frown as Anakin and 'Annie' Skywalker continued trying to kill each other, their argument continuing to devolve; "There is no way you're me! Your breasts are too large!"

"What!? How dare you!"

At his new apprentice's odd look, Obi-Wan shrugged "Armin, in all the loops, Anakin has only shown attraction to his wife Padme, and she's rather petite"

The now named Armin nodded, but frowned "Shouldn't they have drawn their light sabers out by now?"

Obi-Wan frowned as he revealed the two identical blades in hand. "I am not stupid, the minute they remember they have these, or giant robots, its goodbye Mid Rim. Say...how did you keep 50 Mikasa's from killing each other...I may need that advice now that I think about it" he had gotten more and more horrified as he had talked, perhaps realizing how likely it was they could in fact blow up the Mid Rim.

"Well, as they are all fundamentally the same person, they were able to stop killing each other when they realized how much the situation horrified Eren"

"And Eren is..." Obi-Wan asked.

"Pretty much Mikasa's entire world."

Obi-Wan thought about for a moment. "Then in theory, Padme should be able to get those two to stop trying to..."

"Oh, it's on little girl! Deploy Unit 3!"

"So am I, little boy! Bring it on!"

"Oh crap!" Obi-Wan shouted just before the explosions began.

* * *

><p>"Well congratulations Anakin...you broke the Mid AND Outer Rims in your intrapersonal conflict with Giant Robots that only ended when you two triggered a Spiral Nemesis! What do you have to say about yourself?!" Obi-Wan demanded of Anakin at Eden Hall bar, with Armin behind him writing notes on the trans-gender Mikasa Glitch.<p>

"She annoyed the hell out of me" Anakin defended himself.

"She was you Anakin"

"I don't like me all that much, I thought you knew that?"

"Those affected by the Mikasa Glitch are able to recall the memories of all their duplicates in the loop when it's over. So, Mr. Skywalker, what do you remember from your counterpart?" Armin posed the question.

"Well I feel as though I punched myself through Nal Hutta despite being the guy who threw the punch" Anakin admitted oddly.

* * *

><p>1.13 Crossoverpairinglover (Twilight)<p>

* * *

><p>Leah Clearwater, one of the only native loopers to one of the unofficial punishment loops, frowned as she noticed the three teenagers who were taking a beach break.<p>

A muscular, Asiatic female who was reclining on a beach chair in only her scarf, a pair of shades and a bikini, a short, blond haired and very feminine boy who was currently studying the ocean as if it was a magical thing that he had never seen before, and a brown haired, taller boy who was currently swimming.

"You know, the Volturi are currently after you three because of that Titan Shifter stunt," Leah deadpanned as Eren yelled from afar 'I REGRET NOTHING'. "Sure, Edward Cullen deserved to be stomped on, but do you really want a bunch of nearly indestructible human monsters trying to kill _you_ obtain your powers?"

The three all stopped to stare at her. "We are on a vacation from nearly indestructible human monsters trying to kill us," Mikasa informed Leah. "You can't be serious."

"The bitch is," suddenly from all around the four appeared a squad of sparkling freaks of nature. "Kill the Werewolf, the others are coming with us to be turned into..."

The resulting battle didn't even take 3 minutes, as Mikasa and Eren literally took down the Volturi in their swimsuits with a pair of swords and a Titan shift (Alice ended up being thrown all the way into a mountain in Rural British Columbia)

They then resumed their vacationing activities as if nothing had ever happened.

Leah frowned, the thought,_ 'what the hell was she supposed to do now!? This was supposed to be 'brutally destroy the Volturi' loop...this was going to throw her entire loop plans off.' _running through her head.

* * *

><p>1.14 Crossoverpairinglover (Dragon Ball Z)<p>

* * *

><p>When dealing with characters, one has to remember that characters may seem strong or weak only when compared to their category.<p>

For example, a weak Jedi would still seem supernaturally terrifying if he or she was to find themselves in Danville causing Doctor Doofenshmertz trouble. On the other hand, should a powerful Magical girl from Madoka's all but erased timeline, such as Mami, was to find herself in the Marvel Universe against the Abomination... Abomination wins faster than you can say 'Charlotte Second Form'

Raditz is a similar case; for Raditz was a comparatively weak Saiyan. Saiyans are, on a baseline, more powerful than most species. That means that a Raditz, looping or not, would actually be quite dangerous to most non loopers and even some rookie loopers.

Even the really scary non-loopers.

* * *

><p>They knew not who the strange tailed warrior from the stars was who came down from sky to protect them, but he was a revered and all loved figure to the people of Wall Maria.<p>

He was their protector, their benevolent guardian who, without memory bar the ability to fight and his name, took care of any Titan who got within the border of their fair cities.

He was Raditz, the God of Protection, slayer of Titans, currently doing what he does best.

* * *

><p>"Be gone foul monsters!" the long haired fighter shouted as he flew straight into the belly of an average sized titan, which is to say big, lifted it into the air, sent it flying with a spin, then blasting it in the core on its neck, obliterating it as he fired more energy blasts at hundreds of Titans, all ripe for the slaughter like some sort of plague of the undead.<p>

Raditz may remember nothing but his name and his battle skills, but he had a great love for these battles. He would be content to do this for the rest of time, and for the food the humans would give him for his success in battle.

* * *

><p>"I feel happy for him" Goku noted from a version of Kami's lookout in the DBZAttack fused loop while eating a obscenely sized sub sandwich as the three anchors of this reality glared at him. "You have no idea how rare it is in any loop for my brother to get respect. Sure, he's usually a psychopath, but I'm the exception to my race's rule about morality."

"You said you'd teach us how to fight Titans like that Radish guy, not watch you eat that sandwich!" Eren complained as Goku finished the sandwich that was more food than what was fed to the entire Training Cadet core in a month (Even with Potato Girl)

"Do you really expect me to teach you techniques capable of destroying mountains on an empty stomach?"

* * *

><p>1.15 Crossoverpairinglover (Pokemon)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Attack on Gardevoir<strong>

Ash and Pikachu hadn't even gotten that far into the loop before some new looper had them at sword point, a brown haired boy in some sort of European military get up with a Ralts on his shoulder who was wearing a miniature reddish scarf.

"Alright, what the hell sort of loops is this!" He demanded harshly. "Why is my sister some sort of...whatever this is!" he gestured to the Ralts on his shoulder, who was glaring at them in equal measure.

"A Ralts," Ash informed him.

"I repeat myself then, what sort of loop is this, and why is my sister whatever a Ralts is!"

"This is the Pokemon loops, a loop where we train and battle the creatures known as Pokemon to make them as strong as possible." Ash studied the boy for a moment "Hold on, you're one of the anchors of the Attack of Titan loop, right? Erik, Elk, Ethan..."

"Eren," the boy coolly informed Ash. "My sister here is Mikasa, and if you think I'm going to use my sister in some glorified dog fight..."

Ash and Pikachu sighed. Yes, there was occasionally a lot of unfortunate implications with Pokemon, but there was a lot of differences between Pokemon battles and Dog/Cock/Darker and Edgier Poke loop fights. But sometimes this could be annoying to deal with.

But then again, most loopers figured out the difference after one loop.

"I've encountered Titans before, and I am sure you agree that they are horrifying monsters. You probably spent a lot of time gaining new powers to fight them." Ash noted the slight nod from them both. "Many loopers who have turned into Pokemon for a loop find themselves retaining abilities from their time as Pokemon. Mikasa there turned into a Ralts, a Pokemon that, when fully evolved, is capable of teleporting, defying gravity, using telekinesis and many other techniques. You see where this is going?"

Ash and Pikachu noted what seemed to be an animated, though telepathic, discussion between the two, which ended with the swords removed from their necks.

It would seem that Eren and Mikasa were going to be joining them on their 'Master Quest' this loop. Good thing too, considering that Brock and Misty had phoned in earlier about wanting to go out on their own this loop (Brock decided to go to medical school early and Misty was going to try and tame Kyogre)

* * *

><p><em>Viridian City<em>

* * *

><p>"Prepare for Trouble..."<p>

"Make it..."

Team Rocket's motto was interrupted when Eren, having bitten his hand, turned into a gigantic humanoid monster and glared down at them with glowing eyes, breaking the roof of the Pokemon Center in doing so (Which already had a hole in it from said trio).

"RUN AWAY!" Team Rocket promptly ran for it, and would not come back to bother them for the rest of the loop.

* * *

><p><em>New Island<em>

* * *

><p>The green lit island, the base of Mewtwo (who was not awake this time around), was the destination for a select series of trainers chosen by Mewtwo to be the witnesses to the end of the world.<p>

Most tried to fly over in the storm, or perhaps surf through it.

Ash, Pikachu, Eren and Mikasa, who was now a Gardevoir, simply teleported over with a subway sandwich apiece.

"So, this is the home of the strongest Pokemon," Mikasa, who had regained the ability to speak with the aide of Pikachu, noted as Pikachu frowned.

"Debatable, he and Arceus have been duking it out over who is strongest." with Arceus being Loop Aware, it wasn't all that lopsided. "Mewtwo generally agrees to use only his natural powers, and so far they are about 50/50. Though, yes, he is still the strongest Pokemon on the current plane of reality we are on when looping is not taken into account."

"I look forward to fighting him," Mikasa simply said.

"Please only do so if he is unawake," Ash asked. "The last time an awake Mewtwo battled Pikachu or Charizard, the Orange Islands looked like they had just met a Mikasa Glitching Lina Inverse army."

Which thankfully, had yet to happen.

Mikasa rolled her eyes at the comment about the glitch Armin named after her, as the mind controlled Nurse Joy approached them to let them in.

* * *

><p><em>The next loop, after several hundred more battles<em>

* * *

><p>Sasha, Ymir, Krista and the rest of the graduates of Training Squad 104 (bar Eren, Armin and the trio of Annie, Bertolt and Reiner), just stared in amazement from on top of one of the town's buildings as Mikasa fought as a one woman army, maybe two, in Trost.<p>

She seemed to almost teleport from Titan to Titan, and there weren't that many of them left after she had someone moved a boulder in front of the hole in the wall the Colossal Titan had set up with glowing blue eyes, almost telekinetic like.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is why she is top of the class." Sasha stated the obvious.

Meanwhile her fellow part anchors were observing this from another roof top, with Eren holding a Silver League Conference Trophy and complete set of Battle Frontier symbols while his blond pal Armin was meditating, working on force powers he had obtained his last loop, which he had been unable to finish due to a pair of Skywalkers breaking the universe or something like that.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Eren mused.

"Mmmhh...it really is amazing what you must get up to when I'm not around" Armin thought he'd be pretty good at the strategy part of that 'Pokemon' loop Eren had been describing while Mikasa won the battle of Trost on her own, for fun.

"Well, you got to explore space with aliens, I think you have your own fun when we're not around." Eren joked

"It was quite fun actually, until the Spiral Nemesis" Armin admitted.

* * *

><p>1.16 Detective Ethan Redfield (Log Horizon)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Training the Loopers, Hannes<strong>

Before every training session, Shiroe holds a meeting in their guild's dining room. Minori was allowed to sit in on this one, since it involved the person who replaced Touya, a blonde older man from a particularly nasty universe called Attack on Titan in the Hub.

Hannes

Human

Lv 15 Swashbuckler

Lv 20 carpenter

The strategist held a quill in hand and asked, "So what kind of training do you want?"

Hannes sighed, "Please train me in fighting with two blades."

Shiroe quirked his eyebrows, causing Hannes to elaborate, "I once replaced Levi as captain of Levi Squad, the best Titan slaying unit in the Survey Corps. Even though I tried doing what Eren told me and letting my loop memories and instincts guide me, I didn't survive my third encounter with the Titans. Loop memories seem to only go so far. Mikasa told me she took over for my position for the rest of the loop and things turned out alright. But I don't want to be a burden on them anymore. I want to be able to stand on their level and protect humanity."

Nyanta nodded, "Oya, oya, I can respect that, meow. I've been to your universe once, perhaps you could give me pointers on your 3D maneuver gear."

At this point, Minori shouted, "Shiroe, this is insane! I brought Hannes here when I saw your poster on the tree, and I thought you would help counsel him, not play along with them!"

Shiroe gave her a sad look, "Minori, if Hannes were actually insane, we would give him counseling. But he really is repeating time over and over again. Your brother in the universe I first started in was named Tohya."

Minori blinked in surprise as she whispered to herself, "Mom told me once that Hannes almost got named Tohya, but after a young German gentleman pushed her out of the way of a car during his first month of pregnancy. He was hit instead. She named him after that German man."

Shiroe acted like he didn't hear what she said, though his smile did drop a bit. When she turned her attention to him again, the strategist raised his hand to her, "Perhaps this will convince you."

He placed his hand above the table, mentally reaching into his subspace pocket and calling forth an item. A computer phased into existence. The girl's eyes bugged out, "This is-!"

The device whirled to life as Shiroe chuckled, "Loopers like us can carry items between loops in what we call a subspace pocket. Over time, it grows bigger and allows you to carry bigger and bigger items."

He held out his hand against a nearby wall, allowing an oaken door to materialize, "With enough practice, you can even enter your subspace pocket. Would you like to see?"

The door swung open, revealing a study packed with countless books, a portable electric generator, a desk where a laptop used to sit, and countless other items arranged neatly. Minori blinked several times, reaching through the door, but pulling her hand out, "I...this is too much, Shiroe. I need some time to take this all in."

She walked for the stairs to her bunk, turned for a second to Hannes. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and walked up the stairs. The tears in her eyes, however, left nothing that needed saying. After she left, Hannes lowered his head, to which Nyanta put his hand on his shoulder, "Sometimes, the loops are not kind, Nya. I myself had a daughter named Konyan. She was a Cheshire cat in the human world, but she was sentient in this world. At the end of the loop, when I awake outside the game, I search for the same cat, and bring her into the game world. I hope one day to have her looping with us."

Hannes spoke in a mournful tone, "Loop memories are powerful. I remember when she looked after me at the hospital, the joy we had in playing this game where I could actually walk, her always standing up for me. I was there, but I wasn't. But that Hannes, loved her deeply. In many ways, I feel the same. But when the loop resets, I know I won't be there for her. Shiroe, when I return to my world, take care of Minori for me."

Shiroe nodded, "You don't even need to ask. Minori is like a sister to me too, and I would never let anyone hurt her."

* * *

><p>The evening passed with Shiroe and Hannes discussing the finer points of their training, then Shiroe asked for some training in 3D gear since he had never visited the Titan Universe. Both Hannes and Nyanta were fine with it. After everyone else went to bed, Shiroe walked up the stairs, looking to the door where Minori rested. He paused at the door, uncertain as what to do, only for a female voice to echo from beyond, "Shiroe, would you come in, please?"<p>

The strategist replied in the affirmative. Minori was still in her Kannagi outfit, sitting on her bed. Shiroe took a seat at the table, "Are you alright?"

Minori's eyes were red from tears, and silence reigned for several seconds. When she finally spoke, she asked, "What am I supposed to do? Hannes was my brother. I loved him like the world, and he's not even from this world."

Shiroe leaned back, "Not quite. The looper Hannes is indeed not from this world, but Hannes is still Hannes, no matter which world he's in. He was born here, raised in this universe, and he only gained memories and abilities from another world. I feel he'll never stop being your brother, even when he's in his own world. He remembers those moments you spent with him, and he'll treasure them. Hannes comes from a brutal world, where humanity is trapped within three walls like a cage. He has seen friend after friend die every loop. Those times he spent with you will keep him sane, will get him through some of those more difficult moments, and knowing you're safe from a world like his will give him strength to go on."

The anchor spoke with such conviction it staggered her, "How...how can you say that with such conviction?!"

Shiroe's sad grin returned, "Because I've been to worlds like his. A world where chaos reigns and gods consider humans nothing more than pawns and playthings in their struggles to conquer the universe. A world where humanity is hanging on by just a thread in the face of a zombie virus. A world where atomic weaponry are but a fire crackers and entire mountains can be obliterated with but an application of force."

He ruffled her hair, "Those times spent in Theldesia, with the people of Akhiba, and especially my guild mates here in Log Horizon keep me sane, knowing I have a home I will be returning to one day, no matter if I have to wait a thousand years."

Minori gasped, "You've spent a thousand years in a loop before?"

The boy chuckled, "Remind me to tell you the time I was Prince of Equestria, a universe devoid of humans inhabited by sentient ponies, griffons and other mythical and real beings."

Minori thought for a second, then turned hesitant, "Could you...well, would you be willing...to tell me about Tohya?"

Shiroe's sad grin turned happier, "Anytime."

* * *

><p>A year of training passed with Hannes skill evolving in leaps and bounds. Shiroe took him and the rest of Log Horizon guild to the cliffs beyond the Depths of Palm, just as the sun began rising. It probably wouldn't be long before the loop ended, and Shiroe enjoyed showing this place to visiting loopers as a final present to them. Hannes rested against the cool stone surface and let the ocean breeze wash over him, "I wonder if there's an ocean beyond the wall back home."<p>

Shiroe shrugged, "Who knows? As the expansions continue, more of your baseline will be revealed. Until then, you should explore. Yggdrasil fills in those kinds of details. One loop, you may discover an ocean a thousand miles from the wall, maybe mountain ranges the next loop after and finally a desert larger than the Sahara."

Hannes gave a pleased grin, "Maybe I'll take Eren, Mikasa and Armin with me, steal a couple survey horses and ride as far as they'll take us."

"Um-"

Minori walked up, standing over Hannes, "Hannes, I...thank you for being my brother. I've thought a lot about it, and Shiroe was right. You're my brother, and I love you. Please, be careful when you go home, and someday...when you return here, you'll be my brother again...even if Tohya is my brother."

Hannes nodded, "Yeah, you can have more than one brother after all. You'll have to take care of me then too, since I'm a hopeless drunk back in my universe...baseline anyway."

This caused Minori to start lecturing her older brother, making Shiroe and the others of Log Horizon laugh.

* * *

><p>1.17 Blazingen1 (Minecraft)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Attack on TitanMinecraft**

"What the hell is this house made of?" said an incredulous Eren.

-Stone, cobblestone and some wood- responded Steve, Anchor of the Minecraft loops.

They were currently in a fused loop between Eren's world and the world of Minecraft. It was obvious given the blocky nature of everyone present in his world. If they were in a Hub-world loop, then this would be classified as a Minecraft "Mod".

They were currently taking shelter in the Yeager home. There were Titans lurking outside the house, but they are unable to break the wood and stone blocks despite their large size and superior strength…. Huh.

From the inside, they saw the Armored Titan running towards the Wall Maria, blockyness and all, and crashed into the wall. Unlike usual, however, once it did, it got stuck between the walls, with the audible sound of "tck tck tck" repeatedly glowing red as it did, before it finally keeled over and vanished.

Due to the particular rules of Minecraft loops, the Titans, who are "mobs", can spawn randomly throughout the city. The upside to the laws of Minecraft, is that when one dies, they simply 'respawn' within their homes. Such, neither of Eren's nor Mikasa's family died.

Of course, the benefits of respawning were good, there was one small issue about it.

* * *

><p>"No no no no NO NO NO!" was what Jean could say before he was killed by the blocky, blond 15m Titan mob.<p>

"F***********K!" he yelled in frustration as he respawned back in his home. "My stuff! It took me forever to gather that those diamonds! AAARRRGGG! Why didn't I store them in an Ender Chest?!"

* * *

><p>-I've been to this fused loop before. It is quite annoying to lose your items upon death, but at least no one dies.-<p>

"So, the Titans here are merely 'pests'?" asked Armin.

-If you want to put it that way, yes. The economy is mainly driven by mining and the Survey corps are deployed for 'population control'. Going outside has become a hazard, but not a fatal one-

"Huh. So, why can't the Titans break through the blocks?"

Steve did a pretty good rendition of a shrug, which was impressive since he hardly ever moves his shoulders.

-Now, we can hunt the Titans the normal way, or…- he made his way to the chest, and pulled out various items he gathered from other Minecraft fused loops. Among them were RPGs, Machine Guns, the Royal Guardian Sword, and other cool items. -We can do it Minecraft Style.-

Eren, Armin and Mikasa glanced at each other, before grinning widely. This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p>1.18<p>

* * *

><p>Eren Jeager pulled out five coins. "Five says that she's a guy this loop."<p>

Armin chuckled and pulled out matching coins. "He's a girl, there's not doubt about it."

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow at her companions as they argued. "What are you two morons talking about?"

"Hanji's/Hange's gender." They answered in stereo.

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow and pulled out a single coin. "This coin says that Hanji is neither."

Eren laughed out loud. "You're on."

* * *

><p>Three days later...<p>

* * *

><p>Eren sorted and put his winnings into his pocket. "And you said he was a girl. Just goes to show you guys, I'm the best gambler there is."<p>

Armin scowled playfully. "Well, if you're so rich, then you're paying for drinks tonight." Mikasa made no comment, simply looking ever so slightly happy.

"You're darn right I am!"

And drinks were had.

* * *

><p>1.1: I just want everyone to know, they're all doomed.<p>

1.2: Aliens, Titans, what's the difference. They're all trolls.

1.3: Power of Rock!

1.4: So dark, so brilliant. I love it!

1.5: Link would probably be a total badass in this setting.

1.6: Attack on Down Under.

1.7: Jean, of course, only sees a potential harem.

1.8: He is insane, he just doesn't know about it. Welcome to Wonderland Hans!

1.9: Admit it, when you read 1.3, you knew this was coming.

1.10: Harry has seen this sort of thing before. It's always annoying.

1.11: This and 1.10 are actually the same loop.

1.12: It was probably weed. Yeah, that's it...

1.13: Eren, Armin and Mikasa would liven up Twilight a fair bit.

1.14: Evil can be redeemed... but sometimes it's just better to wipe their memory and give them what they want.

1.15: What can I say: Mikasa makes anything more awesome.

1.16: Hannes will be consistent and awesome. His name, will not.

1.17: Minecraft. What can I say.

1.18: It's as unknowable as Han's/Hannes name.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.1 Crossoverpairinglover**

* * *

><p>Eren and Mikasa (step siblings this loop: Eren's dad married Mikasa's mom after Eren's mom and Mikasa's dad had died during a kidnapping gone wrong) Jaeger just stared in odd confusion over this variant of a 'no titan future loop'.<p>

Their current family status made some level of...was sense the right word. But this...

This was bizarre, at least for Armin to deal with next loop.

"Oh, you're our new neighbors? Well, it is wonderful to meet you all. My name is Historia Reins, this is my wife Ymir and our son, Armin." the two older cadets were greeting their parents vigorously with a confused awake Armin trying to wrap his head around the whole thing.

"How does that even work?" Eren whispered to Mikasa. "How do two girls have a son? I mean sure, Armin and Historia look a lot alike, but he looks nothing like Ymir."

"Probably is biologically Historia's from a previous relationship who was adopted by Ymir, so he'd be their son, no two ways about it," Mikasa offered the idea. "Though that leads to the question of...who is Armin's father this loop?"

Meanwhile in prison, a short prisoner in jail for attempting to clean a national monument sneezed...because he was dusting his cell as he did hourly, not because Armin was an Ackerman this loop.

* * *

><p><strong>2.2<strong>

* * *

><p>Annie Leonheart felt the burn of her muscles with each sequence of moves, the cool spring air soaking her lungs with each deep inhalation, the buffeting wind as, with each strike, her body moved through the air to attack her imagined opponent. As she ran through the final motions, Annie breathed a silent breath of relief. Her skills were, in her mind, as sharp as they had been when her father had trained her. It was almost a comfort to know at least that was consistent behind the high walls of humanity.<p>

That, and one other thing. Despite the slow march of man's development of the land, even within Wall Maria there remained scraps of pure, unspoiled land. The trees rustled with the warm wind, leaves against each other. Somewhere far or close, a bird chirped. In here, away from the Titans, away from humans, alone and isolated, there was a certain beauty to it. Annie had never liked crowds, rarely cared for friends, and only remained by Bertolt and Reiner's side because she knew them.

Them... and Eren.

Annie fell into another form, but her stance was ruined when she heard the familiar sounds of someone shouting. 'Oh joy.'

Out of the trees strode Mikasa and Armin Arlert, who, obviously, were arguing. Armin, for some reason, was trying to talk Mikasa out of something, while the Eren's sister was ignoring him to her hearts content. Annie went back to her motions, content to let them argue, but not taking an eye off them.

"Mikasa, I know that you're angry, but it was last loop, it's over, it's past, please don't take this out on her, she's innocent...er, but she didn't do it. You saw how torn up she was, even if the loop ended right there. She didn't know, it was an accident Mikasa, you know that. Mikasa stop right now, please, you don't need to do this, I really want to see if there are any more expansions and we can't do that reliably if she's not... here..."

Annie fell out of her stance as Armin and Mikasa came into easy hearing range, obviously unaware of how good her hearing was. Annie angled her body towards Mikasa and Armin, turned just enough to tell them that she was going to talk if they needed her, but far enough back to show she really, really didn't want to. "What?"

Mikasa stopped a few feet away, actually just outside of good grappling range, but Annie noted that she was close enough for a sword strike. That Mikasa didn't have any swords visibly on her person didn't ease her observation. "Annie... there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Annie flinched involuntarily, not from the perceived accusation, but from the shockingly cold tone. Mikasa was a woman of many things: self-expression was not one of them. That she could convey such an incredibly strong emotion, even one that was as nebulous as this, was a very, very big red flag in Annie's book. She would need to act. "Yes?"

Mikasa didn't seem to move; it didn't look like she even flinch. One moment she was relaxed and still, the next she was following through with a long swing of a pairing blade. And then she was back to her relaxed stance. "I was wondering Annie..."

Annie remained still. She had to remain perfectly still. Fear was welling up inside her, a ghost feeling, but she told herself to '_Remain STILL_'. If she did, then perhaps she could fool herself into thinking she could still feel her whole body.

"Would a Titan shifter regenerate, if you cut off their head?" Mikasa leaned back and with a showy flourish, kicked Annie's body out from under her, knocking the decapitated corpse over and sending the severed head rolling away.

Mikasa turned around, trying to ignore Armin's vaguely sickened expression. When she realized she couldn't, all she said was; "she killed..." Mikasa's voice broke.

Armin sagged, but rested a hand on Mikasa's shoulder. "Eren's alright. That's what makes the loops so great: we don't need to worry about being apart from one another anymore. We'll always have each other."

Mikasa blinked away a few tears and wrapped an arm around Armin. "Thank you." A slight smile graced her features. "You've been taking lessons from Eren, haven't you?"

Armin chuckled somberly. "Mikasa, that was all me. He's inspirational; I'm just comforting."

The two friends walked away, leaning on each other, silently disappearing into the forest. And out in the meadow, Annie continued to tell herself to remain still.

It wasn't to stop herself from falling. It was to stop herself from screaming.

* * *

><p><strong>2.3 Wildrook and Me.<strong>

* * *

><p>"Why am I the bitch?" Eren asked Armin as he was in 02 handling the 6th Angel with Armin.<p>

"Pray you don't run into her," Armin replied. "Besides, if you get in close, I can probably will it to open its lips for us to fire!"

"When Jean starts looping," Eren said, "he must NEVER know about this."

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

Armin gulped down his anxiety. Piloting the Evangelions was possibly the singularly most painful and stressful activity he had ever endured, more so then even his first life in the walled city. It had the terrible side effect of dredging up far too many painful memories. And this was ignoring the frightening similarities to becoming a Titan, and the apparent fact that his mother was locked within Unit One. It was little wonder that Shinji, Rei and Asuka had been the first to try and escape the loops.

In light of that, even Asuka's... unpleasantness was understandable.

But now, Armin Ikari was to face down what was possibly the greatest and most terrible threat to humanity to ever walk within Tokyo Three. A creature that had singularly driven Shinji far deeper into depression then Rei's death or Asuka's coma. A creature that, if they so choose, could simply kill humanity.

And lo and behold, there he was, sitting upon the crumbling rubble of a stone Angel. Kaworu Nagisa was staring into the distance, humming ever so silently the Ode to Joy. Armin summoned whatever courage he could and addressed him. "Hello?"

Kaworu turned, the sun playing off his beautiful, angelic features with a rare intensity. "Oh, yes... you must be Armin Ikari. The Third Child."

Armin gulped again, trying to focus his mind, though it was a very weak attempt. "Well, I, uh... are you time traveling?"

The angel of free will blinked. "I... beg your pardon?"

Having visibly thrown the Angel, Armin rallied. "Are you a time traveler? A looper?"

The angel of free will seemed to digest the question, before hopping off his pedestal and walking ever so slowly towards Armin. The blond was starting to feel a panic attack building up. _'Oh walls, oh walls, oh walls, oh walls...'  
><em>  
>"Arumin..." The angel stretched the R into its' full Japanese pronunciation. Armin gulped and looked up, looking into Kaworu's strikingly red eyes. Suddenly, Kaworu grabbed Armin by the shoulders. "Armin, help! I'm being set up to end the world!"<p>

Armin blinked in confusion. "Er..."

Kaworu was looking like he was having a panic attack. "It's me, Jean!"

Well _that_ solved more than a few issues. Armin calmed down as the visage of Kaworu melted into his longtime friend and comrade. "Welcome to the loops Jean."

* * *

><p><em>'That ceiling... it's so...'<br>_  
>"Familiar."<p>

"Welcome back to the land of the living Eren."

Eren sighed and mustered the strength to turn his head. Mikasa was sponging his forehead, as if she was wiping something off. Wait... "Armin... he didn't..."

"Do you really think he would?" Mikasa murmured in an inflectionless tone. Her usual stoicism had been reinforced after the sixteenth angel. But already a few cracks were showing. "But to answer your question, no, you just had a fever."

Eren sighed and tried to recline further. "Trust me, after this hell of a loop, I'd understand." A wry grin crossed his face. "With a face like this, who wouldn't want to-?"

Mikasa stuffed the sponge in Eren's mouth.

Presently, the pilot of Unit 2 mustered the strength to sit up, and promptly began to try and leave his bed. Mikasa was a step ahead of him though, forcing him back down. "You need to wait Eren. You're still too weak."

Eren fought against his sister's hold. "I'm fine Mikasa. I've had worse you know."

Mikasa very suddenly was holding Eren much closer. "You've had worse than this before? You've had worse than a mind rape before?" Eren forced down his sudden guilt at bringing up his earlier trauma.

That said, he continued, if only to put Mikasa's mind to rest. "I have... a few loops back, there was a stealth anchor for our home..." Eren held up his right arm. "I broke my wrist and you and Armin weren't there."

Mikasa immediately decided that Eren was healthy enough for some physical abuse.

That settled, Mikasa did concede to Eren's request, helping him to his feet and supporting him as they left the stifling confines of Eren's room for some more sociable company in the long-term ward.

In the ward, one Hannes Suzuhara had engrossed himself in one of several science books; currently the third in a series of biology books. Setting the book aside, the crippled boy greeted his visitors with a smile and a hello. "What can I do for you kids? Interest you in some tea?"

Eren chuckled as Mikasa got him a chair. "Hans, you're addicted to the stuff. You know I don't like it."

Hannes shrugged in good nature. "It's the premier beverage of the country. When in Rome."

"Do as the Roman's do," Mikasa concurred, pouring herself and Hannes a cup. Hannes gladly accepted his cup and smiled at Eren, before a look of shock crossed his features. "Damn. I'll never get used to body swapping in loops."

Eren shrugged, flicking a lock of his, or rather, her red hair away. "Trust me, you should have seen our One Piece loop. You wouldn't have even known who I was replacing."

The trio made small talk from there. How Hannes' impromptu education was going, what Eva piloting was like, whether or not Eren or Mikasa had tracked down the latest issue of the Attack on Titan manga, and how Hannes had brewed their tea.

The small talk ceased though, when Armin returned with his guest. "Guys, you're not going to believe this."

Kaworu however took one look at the red head in the room and promptly fell to his knees. "Asuka... I've planned this for over a thousand years, but I've never learned the words I needed to say until today. Asuka, will you marry me?"

No one spoke. Kaworu cracked a goofy grin. "Just kidding! It's Jean."

Eren kicked Jean in the nuts. "You horse faced prick! Don't ever do that again!"

Jean laughed it off. "Hello to you to Eren. How's womanhood?"

Mikasa grabbed Eren before he did something drastic, like hulk out. "Eren, you'll pull something if you strain yourself like this."

"And we'll be out our only good pilot, not considering Jean here, and he doesn't have any training," Armin added intellectually. "And that's not considering the fact that this is only his second loop."

Jean winked at the other loopers. "So, god trees, time travel, end of the world, crazy alternate shit; I miss anything?"

Mikasa passed Jean a cup of tea, which he sampled and handed to Armin with a sick look on his face. The blue haired girl pulled a sword out of her subspace pocket. "Did you explain pockets, Armin?"

Armin pulled out a light saber hilt. "Already a step ahead of you. But..." Armin winced. "How are we going to break _that_ to him."?

"Armin's going to kill you Jean," Eren said, leading to many groans, an even paler Jean and a huge grin on Eren's face.

Jean recomposed himself and growled at Eren. "Bitch."

Eren laughed. "Blame the Loops Jean. They're the real bitch."

* * *

><p><strong>2.4 Wildrook<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren was glaring at Asuka.<p>

"I take it you heard of how I acted in baseline?" she asked him.

"I had no manhood and I felt like I wanted to go Titan at that very moment," Eren replied. "Try being in MY position."

"You're not the one dealing with clones of Wondergirl that should be locked in a Water Tower," Asuka retorted. "And yes, I admit, I can be a handful...oh, shut up."

They didn't even say anything and yet she can sense the retorts.

* * *

><p>"At this point," Armin muttered, "I had to Geass the Angel so Toji wasn't harmed."<p>

"Thanks for that," Toji replied.

"I kind of envy you, though," Shinji said. "I couldn't do anything originally."

"It's not your fault. Your Dad forced the Dummy Plug. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there was a consensus to let the bastard rot."

* * *

><p><strong>2.5<strong>

* * *

><p>The barracks rustled with activity as the still in training 104th began their morning duties. In the mess hall, Jean sipped water, letting the turbid, lukewarm liquid trickle down his throat, wincing all the way. "Damn I miss Tokyo Three."<p>

Eren passed Jean a roll. "Good food. Clean water. And a war against unbeatable aliens? Give me the walls any day."

Jean chuckled, remembering with vague sense the feeling of being crushed between Unit One's armored hands. "Amen to the walls. Better the devil you know."

Eren nodded, but seemed to deflate from the comment. "But we don't know... anything. Nothing makes any sense here."

Jean cradled his drink tenderly. "Yeah. No consistency, even in the baseline." Jean couldn't even begin to describe the mess the world was. Everything seemed to change, every time they came back. Even his name was different this time: Jean, that is, pronounced to rhyme with Bean, instead of how he remembered it: rhyming with Sean. "Hellish place, this is."

Eren chuckled darkly. "Albert Camus, he was a famous writer, wrote that the essence of absurdism is a balancing act between man's search for meaning in life... and the universes lack of meaning. Combine that with the essence of horror: the totality of the unknown and man's desperate search to either understand it, or overcome it, or simply pray that it doesn't notice us. That's our loop in a nutshell."

Jean studied the grain of the wooden table, thoughtful and depressed. "You really think that?"

Eren shrugged. "It's Armin's latest theory. Give me a few days; I'll make a pretty good speech out of it."

Jean scowled, equal parts annoyed and impressed. "You prick."

Eren held up his tankard. "Horse faced bastard."

Jean nodded. "To horse faced bastards and ginormous pricks."

Eren clinked his cup against Jean's. "To eternity, and the loops."

* * *

><p><strong>2.6 Gamerex27<strong>

* * *

><p>"Mikasa," Armin said, as they stood atop Wall Rose, "Do you...ever think we go <em>too far?"<br>_  
>His fellow Anchor shook her head. "With our world," she said, "there's no such thing. Whatever it takes to take down the Titans."<p>

"That's...not what I meant," Armin said. "I meant with the pranks."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Armin was cut off by the thundering of Titanic footsteps. Bertolt, in his Titan form, was fleeing for his life from Eren, his pursuer howling savagely, and swinging the colossal salt shaker with pure hatred in his eyes.

"I mean stuff like _that_. Eren's taking him down with a _salt shaker!_"

Mikasa blinked, then shrugged. "Again, it seems to be working," she noted, as Bertolt screamed in agony from several house-sized grains of salt hitting his exposed flesh. "Try using the pepper next time!"

As Eren gave her a thumbs-up with his free hand, Armin sighed. "I mean, are we starting to lose it? Would _any_ sane person think to take down a Titan with _sodium chloride?_ And don't get me started on what you convinced Sasha to pull last Loop!"

"I admit," Mikasa said, "I _was _surprised that a giant Snickers bar actually got the Titans to go away. It _was _hard to barter for all the ingredients, but you can't argue with the results we attained."

"This morning," Armin said, "I caught myself thinking of a way to stop them. I wanted to _turn the ruins of Wall Maria into a rock mecha_. I don't even know _how_ to _begin_ to do that without something like Spiral Power? And where would we _ever_ get the materials, or manpower, or _anyone willing to help_ with a scheme like that?!"

"Look," Mikasa said, a tinge of annoyance sneaking into her normally emotionless voice, "all the visiting Loopers that came here said that everyone starts to lose it in the Loops. Did you really think we were going to live for trillions of years without starting to snap a little?"

"No, but..." Armin sighed, hanging his head. "I...just don't want to end up like Sakura. I mean, I was thinking about..._experiments_ earlier. I caught myself...and I was scared. Scared about what might happen if I don't try to reign myself in."

Armin head Mikasa walking closer. "Sakura went insane because no one was there to stop her," his fellow Anchor added. "But most of the time, all three of us are Awake. Trust me, if any of us ever start to lose it, the rest of us can reign them in."

The group's strategist looked up, smiling. "Thanks, Mi-"

He was cut off by an earth-shattering thud sending the earth itself into violent convulsions. Thrown off of the wall, they barely managed to get their 3DMGs working in time to avoid a painful and early end to their Loop.

"Speaking of which," Mikasa said as they landed on a nearby roof," I think we should probably talk to Eren right now." She pointed at their friend, who had produced an oversized chef's hat, a spit, and some building-sized barrels of herbs and spices from seemingly nowhere. "Unless he's cooking for some nonhuman Loopers for another day, we might need to talk him out of cannibalism."

"GAH! EREN, STOP!" Armin leapt off of the roof, followed by Mikasa, sporting a rare smile on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>2.7 Wildrook<strong>

* * *

><p>"Of all the armor," Eren muttered, "WHY USE THE FREAKING EVANGELIONS!?"<p>

"Because they're the only ones that support Titan Sized Clothing," Mikasa replied. "That, and Red's more your color than Purple or Orange."

* * *

><p><strong>2.8 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>"You know, I really have to express how glad I am that we got to meet. As we continue to push forward through uncertain times, I am glad to know that I'll have such brave and strong companions as you. You, me, Goku, Naruto, Luffy, Simon and everyone else. The four of us will be seeing a lot of one another, and I feel that's the way it should always be"<p>

"...What the hell are you talking about!?" Eren demanded of the visiting Toonami Operation Module.

"Oh, this and that and a few more things." the robot normally abbreviated as T.O.M replied "Hopefully you'll understand soon. After all, you're my opening act"

"...We are not doing the band thing again...now start making sense before I introduce you to my Titan Form!"

* * *

><p><strong>2.9<strong>

* * *

><p>Trost was filled to bursting. Thieves roamed the streets in packs whenever the guards were out of sight. The starving, displaced refugees had long stopped begging for food; no one had any. What few rations could be produced were either being distributed to everyone else, or hoarded by the nobles. Inside the rotten cesspool that the walls had become, Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackermann were having a debate.<p>

"It was Jean."

"Eren, what I felt wasn't Jean. The ping was too far away to be him."

"Oh come on Armin. You can't really expect a ping to travel for light years. It's not possible."

"Says the man who can become a humanoid monstrosity," Mikasa interjected in Armin's favor.

Eren shrugged. "That doesn't have anything to do with this and you know it. He says that he felt a ping from light years away. That's imposs-"

A star destroyer dropped out of light speed directly above Trost.

"-ible." Eren's reply faded into the stunned, horrified silence of the district. Above the walls, more ships appeared, many disgorging with several small drop ships and X-wings. A few landed gently on the walls, while others landed beyond humanity's boundaries. Most though, landed inside the district.

In the intervening moments between the start of the screaming and total hysteria taking hold, a loud, low, slow and surprisingly comforting voice boomed from the drop ships.

"Greetings citizens of Wall Rose. For those few of you who are Awake enough not to panic, allow me to introduce myself. I am an emissary of the reformed galactic empire, whom is here to represent our people while we assist in planetary evacuations. Now, there is no cause for alarm, because we only have your survival and safety in our interests. Suffice to say, and from examining the information we have recovered from your world..."

"To decline us is to remain stagnant. To accept us is to choose to no longer live in fear of the Titans. That is all."

The voice cut out with an audible crackle. A moment later, a far louder crack heralded Darth Vadar's apparition, a shadow clone henge'd into his original form. "Hey Armin."

"Hey Anakin," the gray Jedi in training returned.

"How's life?"

"Oh, you know. Terrible, exhaustive, hellish. The usual." Armin shrugged. "Oh, where are my manners? This is Eren and Mikasa, my family."

Eren gently shook the former supervillain's proffered hand. "Nice to meet you mister Vadar."

"Likewise," Mikasa said when she shook Anakin's hand. "Where's the prime Anakin?"

The clone pointed at an overdesigned descending shuttle. "Figured we show up and evacuate. Zombie loops are _never_ fun."

"Okay. Thanks." The foursome watched as the fighters began pulling off showy maneuvers and firing into the air. "So... what's with the show?"

Anakin chuckled. "Darth Vadar can't just visit a planet."

* * *

><p>"What! You cannot be serious?"<p>

Darth Vadar was having a ball, repossessing the planet. Most of the citizenry had jumped at the offered supplies of food, ample living space, clean water, and the exceptionally advanced technology. The exception though, was the few people that had supplies of food, ample living space, clean water, and advanced technology. Ergo, the nobles.

"We've held our positions for decades. You can't simply take this away from us!" the noble shouted at him. Several more within the court echoed his sentiment. A few though remained silent. Behind Vadar, a voice piped up.

"The people are fleeing the walls en masse. You can remain, but you'll be the only ones. Its simple economics: they don't like what you're selling, and now there's a new product on the market."

Vadar chuckled raspily. "Thank you mister Reeves, for your accurate summation."

More shouts echoed from the dissenters, but a few were exchanging frightened looks and pulling their aides closely in for discussion. At the front of the court though, King Fritz rose from his throne, almost as disinterested as usual. The speaking instantly ceased. After a single moment to assess the mood of the room, the king spoke.

"There cheap beer?"

"Yes," the Sith lord declared.

"I'm cool with this." And thus, the Fritz dynasty submitted to the Galactic Empire.

Three Weeks Later

Armin slowly twisted his duel ended light sabers in a simple demonstration form. Around him a crowd of refugees cheered at his fluid moves while his grandfather sobbed in pride and happiness. Inside the crowd, Eren and Mikasa had pulled out video cameras to record for later viewing, while in the ships bridge, Darth Vadar happily declared that, when the Death Star was finished, that the planet they were leaving would be subject to the first test firing.

All in all, a good loop.

* * *

><p><strong>2.10<strong>

* * *

><p>"So how did he do it?"<p>

"Hmm?" Armin glanced up from his light saber practice to see Jean a few feet off to his left, an inquisitive look on his face.

That both were floating approximately 60 meters above the ground thanks to Armin's spare Iron Man suit and Jean's angel powers was a fact that was totally irrelevant.

Jean pulled out a few pictures from his subspace pocket and handed them to Armin. The photos showed Eren, snarling ferociously while a mob of Titans went after a titanized Reiner and Bertolt. "Eren's commanding the Titans, and I want to know how he's doing it."

Armin shrugged and pocketed his sabers. "We've tried to study it, but we haven't succeeded in duplicating it's occurrence outside of that specific battle. It's a myst-."

"Bullshit," Jean interrupted. He pulled more photos out, demonstrating dozens of different battles and fights from across the few loops he had been awake for so far. "The loops are not a mystery. Nothing in the loops is a mystery, they're time loops. Things are repeating. Common threads, repeated occurrences, hell a _line graph _would show you what was more likely. Come Armin, you're the smartest guy I know. You have to have looked into this at some point."

Armin winced and floated over to a cloud, sitting down on it and patting a small seat next to him, which Jean took with some trepidation. "Jean... well that's the thing. We've tried to study our loop, all of it. We've been working on this for centuries, but we've never made any headway." Armin pulled a few pictures from his own pocket. "Do you see these? These photos were taken from the inside of the basement of Eren's house."

"Why does one of them have a star on the back of his left shoulder?" Jean asked him.

"Whoops, wrong photos," Armin replied, bringing up the right ones.

"OH DEAR GOD, THAT'S HIDEOUS!"

Armin nodded. "Titan's doing the Time Warp. Eren thinks it's in reference to something he said before Bertolt took down Wall Maria in the base line. If we're lucky, someone else will Anchor, and he'll say it to Mikasa before the Wall falls. We don't know what it means, but... he asks Mikasa if her hair was supposed to be shorter."

"Alright..." Jean flipped out another picture, an eyebrow raising in disbelief. "What is this?"

Armin tapped the photo. "That's a poker table. That loop Grisha was running a secret gambling ring out of his basement."

Jean searched through the photos with greater urgency, pulling out a different picture. "And this?"

"That was a loop where Grisha had set up a system to create clones of Mikasa, like Rei. It was pretty interesting."

Jean stared at the dozens of different photos, the epiphany hitting him gently. "It changes every loop..."

Armin nodded. "Every loop we open it. We need a spare key, from our pocket though. Grisha won't open it for us."

Jean glanced up from a photo labeled 'Grisha and Carla's sex dungeon.' "Why not?"

Armin shrugged. "It's a loop constant. He do anything to stop anyone from opening it. He'll declare Eren insane, destroy the key, beg for his life... anything to keep others out of there. And we need the key to get in. If we force the door, the loop crashes."

Jean handed the pictures back a thought. The wind ruffled his hair, cloud drifting lazily around him and Armin. In the distance, dark thunderheads formed against the blue sky, lacing the air with ozone and freshness. "Wow."

Armin adjusted his gauntlet absentmindedly. "Exactly. Things vary between some loops in some worlds. Here everything changes. Names, genders, abilities, histories, alliances, everything. There is no consistency. Little foreknowledge. And a lot of bad luck."

Jean sighed. "Amen to that Armin. Amen to that."

Armin nodded, the spare iron man gauntlets he had gotten from Tony Stark kicking in and letting him hover away. "You gotta just go with the flow. Survive and help others survive. It's the only way to get through the loops."

Jean nodded as Armin floated off, before hopping off the cloud and using his AT-field to float himself down. If that was life in the loops...

He could live with it. But there was something he wanted to know. "Hey Armin!?"

"What!?" The Jedi shouted back.

"When's Marco going to start looping!?"

"Eventually!"

That was the only answer anyone could give in the loops. Eventually.

* * *

><p><strong>2.11 Detective Ethan Redfield<strong>

* * *

><p>"Uh, Jean, what are you doing?"<p>

Armin stepped through the door to the Survey Corps headquarters. There in the common room, Jean was strumming on a guitar Armin knew he didn't own. Jean looked up, "Well, since these loops will be going for awhile, thought I'd pick up a hobby, something to keep me sane."

He cleared his throat and began as his fingers played with practiced ease,

_Please don't kill us, please, because we really don't want to die.  
>And if you do not kill us, we will bake you lots of pies!<em>

_(One two three four!)_

_Please dont kill us please, we wanna help you out,  
>Please don't kill us, please, we know you have your doubts!<br>But if you let us live, JAEGER can help plug up the wall!  
>He'll use his powers for the good of humanity,<br>If you don't shoot us with cannonballs, YEAH!_

He launched into a guitar solo. Several survey corps members came inside to see what the commotion was. Jean was so caught in his music, he didn't notice.

_Please don't kill us, please, we don't want to die.  
>And if you do not kill us, we will...bake...you...lots...of...pieeessss!<em>

_GOODNIGHT TROST!_

With that, he ended the song, as the corps started clapping and muttering to themselves. Armin was also clapping, "Where did you learn that one."

Jean didn't respond right away as the survey Corps members returned to their work, then replied, "My first stealth anchor loop. It was a couple loops ago. Actually, _you_ taught it to me and had me convince the Garrison not to kill you, Mikasa and Erin after Erin's first Titan shift. Just out of nowhere, shouted for me to save them with the power of song. Reiner handed me an electric guitar he..._borrowed_...from a nearby music shop."

Jean concentrated for a moment as the guitar faded into his subspace pocket, "It was a weird loop. Erin didn't seem to take losing his mother as well as he did baseline and snapped. Anytime anyone mentioned titans, he would start chanting the word, _Titans, _over and over again."

Meanwhile:

"Hey Meekasa, can you be racist if you're the only Japanese person alive?"

Mikasa shrugged. "I don't know Eren. I don't know."

* * *

><p><strong>2.12<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren laughed at the irony. Armin tried to comfort him. Mikasa simply acknowledged that it had happened.<p>

Jean didn't like it all. "Of all people, why Jean Grey? Why not Jean Luc Picard? Why a girl?! DAMN YOU LOOPS!"

* * *

><p><strong>2.13 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>"There, done"<p>

Mikasa looked over what Armin had concocted for this loop with some level of unease "Are you sure...this is safe?"

Her short and intelligent friend hopped down from his perch: the deactivated welder still in his hand before being quickly stashed back into his pocket "I'm sure it is. I'm sure this will solve everything...assuming Eren doesn't get carried away"

Armin promptly looked up "You hear me Eren, do not get carried away with that thing!"

Eren, in his Titan form, nodded, before lowering his back as to allow the large laser cannon attached to it to charge up just as a trio of Titans stumbled towards him.

**ZAP**

**BOOM**

**SIZZLE**

* * *

><p>Annie watched as the laser beam refracted across her skin and nearly killed Eren. <em>'I don't get it.'<em>

* * *

><p><strong>2.14 Wildrook<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean were in shock at the guy who had moving blades.<p>

"Did he just..." Jean muttered.

"He's moving faster than Mikasa," Armin replied.

"I know one thing," Eren said. "SOMEONE'S going to want that guy on the Survey Corps."

Mikasa, however, was cautious. "We might have a problem," she said, looking at Eren.

Armin and Jean got the message and cringed...and Eren groaned.

"Yeah, pray you guys don't end up as Titan Shifters around this guy," he replied.

"Jean, how's your AT Field?" Armin asked the half-Angel.

"He's not invited, I can tell you that," Jean replied.

Armin nodded. "You're on defense. Mikasa, you and I will cover Eren as he seals the hole in the wall in Titan Form. Eren, make sure he doesn't see you."

"No need to tell me twice," Eren replied, getting ready to bite down on his hand. "He's worse than me repeating the word 'Titans' over and over in a blind rage. Heck, I'm pretty sure HIS Titans are different."

"Well, someone DID get the name from Greek Mythology before we got closed in the walls. You think he'd have a beef with Mythology in general?"

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the bald man yelled, going through the blood of the fallen.

"Does the pile of Titan Corpses answer your question?" Jean asked Armin, sarcastically.

* * *

><p><strong>2.15<strong>

* * *

><p>Jean stared at the massive camp of civilians that had sprung up around the barracks. A vast number of people, shouting in reverence, prayer, and piety had assembled around the building housing a big chunk of the Survey Corp, or ad this loop called them, the Scouting Regiment. "Eren, what the Wall am I looking at?"<p>

A potted plant next to Jean popped off its' pedestal as Eren straightened enough to reveal his apparently divine head. "Rouge Titan Cult."

"Rouge... Titan cult? Really?"

Eren shrugged, more frustration then malice in his posture. "They show up every now and again. Usually they'll spring up whole-cloth when I do to* well in the battle of Trost. I've seen a few instances where they just show up period. But the first time they got formed, and most of the times after that, Armin did it."

Jean dislodged a grappling hook that a Titanist had thrown up to his window. "Right... Armin did this."

Armin popped out of a hidden wall panel. "Did not... at least, not this time."

Eren glared at his best friend while Jean handled the grappling hooks. "Sure you didn't. Just like that time where your little project didn't* turn us into manifestations of the Walls."

"That also wasn't me," Armin clarified as Jean screamed at a guy whose hook had hit him in the head. "And besides Eren, there's bound to be a good way to use them."

Mikasa flipped down from her hiding place in the rafters. "Armin, when the Titanist Cult shows up, there's a fifty-fifty chance it'll spark a civil war and kill one of us."

"Fifty-fifty's not such bad odds when you think about it," Jean pointed out. "At least not compared to our usual streak of luck."

Mikasa continued. "The other half of the time, they crack open the Walls and we have to deal with the colossal Titan's inside them."

"Oh." Jean cut another hook off his window sill, glaring down at the assembled Cult. "So what do we do now?"

The carpet next to him stood up, Hans dusting himself off and ignoring Eren's glare. "Usually we skip town and head for Shiganshina. There's this great bar that's filled with some quality beer in the district."

Jean groaned. "Is liquor all you think of?"

The captain of Trost's garrison chuckled. "Hehehe, nah. I just appreciate a bit of fine wine ever now and again. And I want to see what this loop's variation of Eren's basement is."

"Can't be stranger then my mom eating a sandwich," Eren murmured, recalling the loop where Carla Jaeger had been discovered in the ruined confines of her basement, alive and well, and eating a sandwich. The assembled loopers chuckled.

Jean sliced another grappling hook, then did a double take. "Wait, what the hell is Hannes doing here? Why are you hiding?"

Hans shrugged, a flicker of shame crossing his face. "I couldn't save Carla this loop. The cultists usually twist that into making me the Anti-Titan or something. They'll hang me if Eren doesn't save me, and he's not exactly in a charitable mood right now."

"Oh I'm feeling charitable Hans. Why don't you head outside and see what happens to you." The malice in Eren's tone was palpable.

"I think I'll pass," Hans muttered.

Out in the crowd, several shouts of "The teacher is here, the teacher is here," and variations of such began to rise. Above the horde of Cultist's, Annie Leonheart dodged grappling hooks in her (as this loop called it) Omni-Directional Maneuver Gear, shouting for them to leave her alone. Jean helpfully shouted that the window was open, and the blonde saboteur landed next to him.

"Eren, control your cult," Annie growled. Eren shrugged, for a moment more than happy to let his old mentor deal with the cultists. Annie rolled her eyes and left for the inner halls of the barracks, looking for food and relief from the crowd.

Jean cocked a finger after Annie. "Seriously, if you hate her so much why do you let her teach you anything?"

Eren shrugged again. "She usually has different techniques and styles from loop to loop. It helps me stay fresh. The cultists probably recognized my fighting style as her own this loop; it's pretty distinctive."

Jean caught a grappling hook mid arc and threw back at the cultist who threw it at him. "This is ridiculous."

Armin chuckled. "No. It's glorious*."

"IT WAS YOU THIS LOOP!" Eren and Mikasa screamed, jumping the blond who had sic'd a cult on them. Jean and Hans watched the fight, both experiencing some level of bemusement.

"Are they always like this?" Jean asked.

"Trust me, you should have seen them as kids," Hans answered.

* * *

><p><strong>2.16<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren curled up a little more on his bunk, suppressing his shuddering form as well as he could as he tried to sleep in the trainees barracks. Unfortunately, the young man that had shared his bunk for countless eons wasn't so blind to his issues. "Eren, you've been jumpy... yaawwww, all loop. What's the matter?" Armin half asked, half yawned.<p>

Eren forced his shaking to subside for a moment before replying. "I'm fine Armin. Just some bad memories from last loop, okay."

Armin sat up sleepily. "You've replaced your fair share of girls before Eren: replacing Sakura wasn't so bad."

"Says you... and how would you know, you didn't replace her," Eren countered with silent ferocity.

Armin lifted a finger in exposition. "You're far more comfortable talking about it. Which means whatever you're really going through is much worse. So if you want to talk, then talk. If you don't, then talk anyway."

Eren curled up on his bed roll. "Shut up Armin. You don't know what's happening."

Armin rested a hand on Eren's back. "Eren, I know something's up. Please tell me... so I can get some sleep."

Eren groaned and rolled over. "You just had to say please didn't you? You know I can't resist you when you say please."

Armin ruffled his friend's hair. "Well, I could ask you to say no when I say please."

A smirk danced across Eren's face in the dim moonlight that filtered through the slats in the roof. "Now why would I do that?"

Armin's hand wrapped around Eren's shoulders. "So, what's happening this loop?"

Eren took a deep breath and waved it out as a sigh, trying not to meet Armin's gaze. "...You know that Inception loop we went through a while back, where Hobbes taught us how to unlock repressed memories to figure out if Inception had taken place?"

Armin nodded wordlessly, already not liking when the story was going.

"Well... I'd been going through the loops doing that. I wanted to see if I could recall... that dream I have, in the baseline. The one where I wake up crying, and can't remember anything... except that Mikasa's supposed to have longer hair."

Armin nodded again. "Yeah...the Admins said that it may have been time travel. That your dream was part of the reason they couldn't get a bead on who would survive."

Eren curled up a little more, tears dancing in the sides of his eyes. "When I did this loop... I... I..." It was too much; Eren broke down sobbing.

Armin wordlessly pulled his friend into a tight embrace, trying to quell the outpouring with his presence. Eren's form was wracked with the force of his crying, but somehow he remained quiet enough to hide the noise from the rest of the snoozing soldiers.

Slowly, Eren's sobs tapered off, the young man regaining some control over himself. As the crying died out, Eren tried to extradite himself from Armin only to find himself locked by the blond's arms. "You're going to tell me everything Eren. Then I'll let you go."

Eren gulped and quietly admitted what he had been dealing with all loop. "It's all fake. Everything. Our bond isn't real. We're aren't... we aren't real friends Armin."

Eren's brother pulled him closer into his chest and allowed Eren to continue.

"It was a time traveler. He staged everything. I came from the future... we lost the war. We lost everything. My father tried to set everything right though; he had a Titan in the basement. One that could send people back in time, into their old bodies for a few years. I went back... and I met you and Mikasa. You were the perfect strategist; the man that nearly won us the war, but Annie killed you in Stohess. Mikasa was the perfect soldier, the last of the Ackerman line of warriors. Unbeatable, she slayed over a hundred Titans, all alongside her brother, the late and Great Corporal Leviticus Ackerman." Eren nuzzled against Armin's chest, trying to block tears again. "I was the perfect weapon."

"Alone, all three of us almost won against the Titans. Together we'd be unstoppable. I was the one who sent the slavers to Mikasa's house that night. I was the one who helped the Military Police find out about your parent's hot air balloon. It was me. I made us who we were... and when it was all over, I cried about it. I wouldn't live to see what you would do. I was afraid to die. I was... I'm..." Armin rested a hand on Eren's head, stopping Eren's last sentence. For a moment Armin was indecisive, but looking at his friend's distraught form, rallied.

"Eren, I want you to hear something. Just stop... and listen." Armin wiggled up his bedroll and pressed Eren into his chest. In the silence, Eren could just make out a faint noise; a then pulsing noise.

"That's my heart Eren. It's a heart that belongs to you and Mikasa. To you both, and not the man that put it in your hands. We've been through thousands of loops together, spent thousands of years together. You know as well as I do that your time traveling isn't a constant across our universe. This didn't happen in our first loop, and it won't be the true ending to our last. I know that it's strange that we three would end up together. That the three perfect people to fight the Titans are the closest of friends, but I'm willing to say that it's a coincidence rather than admit that we were put together to be soldiers. Eren, you are my and Mikasa's nakama: we're stronger the brothers, closer than lovers, more dear then friends, and our bond is one that will never break through out eternity."

"I know that what that future you did can seem unforgivable, but Eren, I do forgive you. And I'm glad that he allowed us to share a bond like this, even if it isn't true for this loop, because in the whole of the universe, it is our greatest truth and constant."

Eren and Armin remained there. The moon rolled through the night as the hours passed. Eren spent his night listening to Armin's heartbeat, digesting his words. An answer finally bubbled up from within. "Thank you Armin."

Armin patted Eren's head. "It's my pleasure."

Eren nuzzled in a little closer to his friend. "You want some Italian?"

Armin blinked in surprise. "Isn't it a little late for Italian?"

Eren chuckled ever so softly. "What can I say, I have an appetite for the stuff. I have some stuff in my pocket I want to try. What do you say?"

Armin thought it over, and chuckled himself. "I'm pretty sure the kitchens are deserted tonight. We'll head there for Italian. But you must promise me something Eren."

Eren sighed as the playful edge left his voice. "Yeah... I'll tell Mikasa in the morning. After Italian."

And so, the two left for the kitchens, and enjoyed their Italian there, a load off their backs.

* * *

><p><strong>2.17<strong>

* * *

><p>"Hey, Mikasa-"<p>

"No."

Jean froze in surprise at Mikasa's sudden cancellation of their conversation. "But you don't even know what I'm going to say."

Mikasa looked at Jean from across the small clearing she was meditating in, watching the leaves idly spiral downward. "You were going to ask me out on a date. I know that, because this isn't the first time you've asked me in this meadow Jean. I come here, and you ask me for a date. I use to say yes, but you could never believe that I was truly yours. You always felt threatened by Eren. And when you weren't you walled be off, kept me from others. You were the worst boyfriend you could be. If the relationship continued after Trost though, you loosened up. You became humble. But you also saw how you treated me. You felt guilty, terrible, remorseful. You spent days away from me, and when I did see you, you'd apologize and leave. You always broke it off after Trost, if I didn't leave you myself."

"But...?"

Mikasa slowly shook her head. "Jean, I tried to be with you. It didn't work. I came to realize that we'd never work. As a looper, we'd barely see each other. I'm sorry Jean, but it's impossible now." Mikasa nodded, both to herself and to Jean, and returned to her meditation.

Jean watched as the girl that he thought he had loved sat upon a small rock, before turning around, and wiping the tears away, left.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**2.1: Ain't nothin' wrong with havin' two mommies.**

**2.2: At least she can't remember that once the loop resets.**

**2.3: If Shinji was perpetually angry, he'd essentially be Eren.**

**2.4: Gendo's a prick. That is all.**

**2.5: Run some water, slit your wrists, climb in. You're bleeding to death, but hey: it's warm.**

**2.6: The infamous stir craze.**

**2.7: He'd do well dressed as Santa Claus.**

**2.8: TOM will have his programs. one way or another.**

**2.9: Armin's gotten around to being a good friend to Anakin. Vadar will always be evil though.**

**2.10: Secrets, thy name is Yggdrasil!**

**2.11: Titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan titan.**

**2.12: Jean Grey or Jean Kirchstein. Both are strange.**

**2.13: Frickin L-TITAN!**

**2.14: You know your a rage-o-holic when Eren raging-for-titans Yeager thinks you're going too far.**

**2.15: Mikasa's scarf grants strength and bravery in combat.**

**2.16: Brotherly love.**

**2.17: Shot through the heart, but she's too late, Mikasa gives love... a bad name.**


	3. Chapter 3

3.1

* * *

><p>'This is the strangest loop ever,' Eren thought.<p>

"THIS IS THE BEST LOOP EVER!" Jean shouted from his position on Eren's shoulder plating. The Titan shifter rolled his eyes and entered engagement range of a seven meter class Titan.

The fight was doomed to never occur though, as a barrage of cannon fire caught the Titan across the back, just before a sharp neck chop crushed its nape. Eren and his crew collectively groaned as the blonde female Titan once again stole their kill. Annie, for her part, almost managed to actually smile at her rival and boyfriend, while her crew of Mina, Hitch and Marlo exchanged whoops and high fives.

'Yeah, this is one freaking weird loop,' Eren concluded.

The history of the variant they were in went as such: apparently a guy named Kyklo who was supposed to have invented 3DMG/ODMG in the baseline... well, didn't. Instead, he discovered five exceptional human beings who were capable of transforming into Titans, and with careful practice, preparation, and no small amount of political manipulation, got his pet project of allied Titans off the ground and working for the Garrison.

Fast forward fifty years and the five Titan shifters remained the most important and powerful weapons in humanity's arsenal against the Titans. For years each one was carefully hand-picked by a body of generals and doctors to bear the burden of being mankind's greatest weapon. Each Titan, The Rogue, The Dancer, The Knight, The Maiden, and The Colossus, had been regarded as heroes, even saviors of mankind.

Then, as it often did, everything went to hell at Shiganshina.

The Beast Titan showed up and scaled the wall, slapping everything with a strange miasma that turned half the district into Titans, before ripping the gates apart. The shifters and the army fought bravely, but one by one the Shifters fell, consumed by their enemies.

Eren barely recalled the event himself, primarily because he hadn't been awake when it had happened. But when he did awaken, a year before Trost, he, Mikasa and Armin had formed a few theories. Those theories had been only been refined when two things were recalled.

The first was the announcement that Annie, Bertolt, Reiner, Ymir and Eren, all survivors of the fall of Wall Maria, had been administered the Titanization serum while they had been unconscious and were now conscripts. Following that, they were informed that each would be assigned a specific crew of raw recruits about their age. Armin had very quickly put the dots together: all five had been turned into Titans by the Beast Titan, and had eaten the previous shifters, and since transferring the powers would mean devouring innocent children, no one wanted to tell the children why they had been chosen or why they couldn't back out.

It was a heartless, cruel move, but it also happened to be the only 'good idea' anyone could conjure up at the time. And it also allowed Eren to revel in a true rarity: a Titan Armor loop.

"Eren, we have a twelve meter class Titan three blocks south and one block east," Armin shouted from the large steel crown that functioned as both a lookout post for him and a helmet for Eren.

Shaken from his recollections, Eren nodded minutely and began to walk towards the spotted Titan. Along his shoulders, Mikasa and Jean finished loading cannons with grape shot, the sole woman on Eren's crew taking a moment to engage the shoulder cannons, long barreled cannons that resembled an Eva's shoulder fins.

Eren moved carefully and deliberately, keeping a mostly constant speed and focusing on long strides to minimize vertical movement. Though his crew was tied into long cables that ran between his shoulders and neck, a bad movement when they weren't prepared would knock out any usual human.

Thankfully, they weren't usual humans.

The Titan roared at Eren, staggering towards him like a drunk five year old. Eren clenched a fist over a reinforced steel wedge below his knuckles and with a text book strike drove the titanic blade through the neck of the Titan. Suffice to say, the Titan stopped roaring.

Mikasa pulled the firing cord on her cannon and obliterated the Titan's nape, killing it. Eren turned deliberately, just fast enough to notice another Titan making a lunge at him. This one was stopped, not by any attack by Eren, but by Jean's AT field. Roaring his own defiance, Eren switched styles and smashed the Titan's head with a Hulk infused blow, sending the cranium soaring.

Mikasa rapped her fist against the deployed shoulder cannon, slightly miffed that she hadn't been able to use it more in battle. Mikasa typically preferred blades in the field, or failing that some sort of magical attack, but being incapable of wielding either without arousing suspicion was a novelty for her. So was being in proximity of such huge guns. Mikasa would admit to herself and no one else (other than Eren or Armin, if the asked) that she was starting to really enjoy the idea of "superior fire power."

Armin called out. "White and red smoke signals! Turn west and advance into the country." Eren turned on his heel and started to stomp outside to the outskirts of the abandoned town outside Wall Rose. Jean cast a furtive glance towards Annie, still fighting off the Titans, before forcing himself to return his focus to the more immanent battle.

On the edge of the village, Ymir and duking it out with a small quartet of Titans. The Armored and Dancing Titans were back to back, cannons blasting at the monsters and knives prepped to hack away at the hot flesh of their foes. As the crew of Eren watched, a particularly hungry Titan made the foolish move of attacking their flanks. A single, swift, powerful and coordinated blow decapitated the Titan and ruined its nape, felling it.

Eren didn't waste a single moment after that. Moving in, he shifted to the left, opening a firing line for Mikasa. The Titan down her range, a large blonde with a severely oversized head, had its stomach and chest blasted. A second charged, even as the remaining Titan was turned into a mess of meat by Reiner's cannons. Eren swung hard and crushed the enemy Titan's nape, raising an arm and blocking the opposite Titan.

For a moment neither Shifter nor Titan managed to gain a foothold on each other, a fact rectified when Armin pulled out a 5-centimeter gauge double barreled shotgun and blew its eyes out. The stunned and agonized Titan flailed, but a blow to its nape was enough to bring it down. Eren finally delivered a single stomp to its nape and killed it.

'Strange loop... but not a bad one. Not a bad one at all.'

* * *

><p>Headquarters was a refurbished warehouse, carefully prepped and rebuilt to support the needs of the pseudo-military operation that ran out of it. It contained its own foundry to repair and forge armor and cannons, training grounds for sparring on human and Titan scales, and of course bedding for the shifters, their crews, and any corps that so chose to camp out the night, along with several docking ports to hold the armor when it was empty. It also came with a large, semi-unlit, imposing office that acted as the office of one Grisha Yeager.<p>

Eren, Ymir, Annie and Reiner were arrayed before the commander as he examined the reports impartially, reading out a few passages as he saw fit. "Has regularly disregarded orders in favor of engaging targets. Refuses to act in concert with fellow soldiers. Has made repeated romantic advances upon fellow corpsman. Acts in manners that endanger crew and command. Needlessly insults Titans."

Annie growled to herself. "Commander-"

"Leave." Grisha said it with the same dispassionate mumble that he had read the report in, but the words fell like a pile driver regardless. The Shifters winced collectively and turned to leave, but Eren stopped at a few words from his father. "Eren, remain."

With more than a few awkward goodbyes and worried looks, Reiner and the girls left, abandoning Eren to his father. As the door clicked shut, Eren turned to face the man that had ran when Shiganshina fell. For a moment, father and son shared the silence. Grisha broke it first.

"Romantic advances on a fellow corpsman. I take it your bet remains that Ymir will win Miss Renz's heart."

Eren shrugged. "She had a history with Ymir. Sure Reiner's more personable, and even a fair bit more open about it, but Christa knows who she likes and who she loves."

Grisha smiled and opened a file drawer underneath his desk, extracting a bottle of whiskey from it. "To your health?"

Eren took a proffered glass of the liquor. "You know, if we keep this up, it will stunt my growth, ruin my bone structure and probably have harmful effects on my kidneys in the long term." The Shifter kicked back a glass. "I love my metabolism."

Grisha smiled and sipped his own glass of the potent amber liquid. "I love it too. To think that your healing factor is so extreme as to cure the effects of alcohol so quickly... I honestly have no idea why you would drink it to begin with."

Eren shrugged, a little smile dancing onto his face. "I don't try to get drunk. I drink it for the taste."

"Might as well read Playboy for the articles then." Grisha smirked as Eren spat out his drink in sheer shock, before breaking into hysterics. "Really Eren, it's great that you love life like you do. You really are something rare in the world: an idealist." A genuine fatherly smile graced Grisha's face. "I'm so proud."

Eren shrugged it off. "Yeah, yeah... shut up dad."

* * *

><p>3.2<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey Eren?"<p>

"Yes Armin?"

"Do you have the feeling that we missed the party?"

Eren glanced back at his friend with a look of such searing suppressed rage at Armin's horse fainted. Armin, being a very long time friend of Eren's, simply acknowledged the emotion and chocked it up, quite accurately, to mild annoyance. "No Armin, I don't think we missed a party. Why would you think that, when we're surrounded by Titan corpses!"

Indeed, Eren, Armin, Mikasa, the entire survey corps, most of the Garrison, a brigade of military, and about ten percent of the total number of humanity were walking forward, ever so cautiously passing the innumerable corpses of felled Titans. To the minute, not a single live Titan had been seen, baring a single exception; a somewhat feminine Titan, dressed as a school girl, tied to two very strong trees, and left to the machinations of an oversized squid.

To say the mental scars were deep was an understatement.

But as the procession approached the edge of Wall Maria, the reports were confirmed, at least in part. Wall Maria's gate was in fact sealed again, its barricade drawn. Hans, unawake, quickly entered the guardhouse and worked the mechanism, raising the gates.

With trepidation, the people of the walled city reentered the district of Shiganshina for the first time in five years.

Eren glanced around, more than a bit amazed. Though the district looked to be in ruins, the houses still stood. The wind still whistled through the streets. And in the distance, just as the survey corps had determined just weeks ago, the breach in the far gate was sealed. Somehow, even though he had lifted in the district for centuries, a pang of emotions, fear, hope, longing, pain, swept through his chest and gripped his heart. Next to him, a man dropped to his knees. A priest began pontificating. Erwin let out a minute, cautious chuckle.

Eren let out a sigh of relief as similar reactions swept through the civilian crowd. "Well Armin, I don't know how... in the world that got there."

Armin, and then Mikasa, the some of the 104th, then all of the 104th training regiment, then the survey corps, then the garrison and military police, then the civilians all turned to look. What they saw amazed and astounded those assembled. It drew long groans from the military. It got more than a few shouts from the citizens. The priests all fainted.

On the far Eastern wall, a mural had been painted, depicting an androgynous person, surrounded by worshiping Titans, both rendered in rich colors. The androgen was stretched lavishly on a bed of steam Titan flesh, winking seductively at the crowd. Underneath all of this was the epitaph: HANGE WAS HERE. Below that, in bold kanji, were the words: RANMA WAS HERE.

Levi, the most perceptive of the assembled, experienced a fit of emotion, dismounted his horse, and began ramming his head into a near wall.

* * *

><p>3.3<p>

* * *

><p>How does one tell a loop is seconds away from being ruined? Perhaps it's a disturbance in the force. Sometimes a certain chill runs up the spine. And once in a while, raw intuition is the deciding factor. But for this loop, the little show was enough.<p>

Eren pointed at the massive gray fin that paced back and forth in front of the gate. "Is that a shark?"

"Yes," Mikasa answered tentatively.

"And are all Titan's half shark this loop?"

Armin nodded with more than a touch of worry in his posture.

Eren pumped his fist in triumph. "Yes! The Rogue Shark, here I come!"

At that second, the Colossal Shark, as it was later dubbed, kicked in Wall Maria, sending rocks flying across the sky...

"DESTINY, THY NAME IS ER-!"

...Followed by a gush of water that wiped Shiganshina off the map and killed Eren before he could comment.

As it turned out, Sharks were fish. Meaning that they needed water to survive, and thus making the walls act as massive dykes.

Eren never did get that good at swimming.

* * *

><p>3.4 ScyBlade<p>

* * *

><p>Armin watched the interactions of Mikasa's family. This Loop, she was born to a well-liked Noble family. Her three new family members were clearly Loopers, they had pinged almost immediately upon the start of the Loop. And she inherited their white hair. Unlike most Nobles, this family had a history of actively fighting the Titans. And never losing any member of the team they were on.<p>

Eren still lived in the same house as Mikasa. One of the perks of having a doctor for a father. Apparently, Mikasa's family had been living in the same town as baseline because Titans had a preference to attack that town this Loop. For the record, Eren's mother was working as Mikasa's personal maid.

Now, the interaction was not what one would call normal. They were killing the Titans that would arrive at this point. And it was quite an Elegant Show of Death. Mikasa and her parents were practically teleporting (Armin believed it was actual teleportation) around the battlefield so much that there always appeared to be two of each of them.

Mikasa was doing her usual Dance of Death. She was also wearing a blue outfit that was both stylish and presented a noble air. Armin also suspected it would do a better job at protecting her than the standard issue military garb would.

Her father, named Vergil, was more of an Angel of Death. He had started wearing a blue long coat, but had immediately dissolved it into darkness, leaving only a vest with a strange crest on its back. His elegance was one of precision attacks that rarely necessitated more than two strikes to down any Titan. And he did so with STYLE! He also apparently had an instant-death radius thanks to ethereal blades. His double also was a bit more white than himself.

Her mother was Trixie Lulamoon. Armin recognized her from the Ponies' Loop, and was expecting explosions. There was not a one in sight. Instead, it was more Stage Magician in style. Illusions, doves, throwing cards, and a sword-cane (unicorn themed, Armin noted). She had the smallest body count, but she was handling any Titan that made it past the wall. She had a clear look of disgust any time she had to kill.

...Apparently, Vergil married into her family. Odd.

Eren had shifted into his Titan form, and was fighting alongside his in-loop 'bash brother', and Mikasa's in-loop brother, Nero. What the two lacked in elegance, they made up in teamwork. And Nero clearly had a sense of style to boot. He also had manifested a rather large samurai-esque phantom with a bit of an angel theme. Much like Vergil, he had ethereal blades attacking any Titan in range.

Now, Armin was not being stupid, or idle for that matter. He was coordinating all this since the three guests had little actual experience fighting alongside each other. In-loop memories could only go so far too. He was also coordinating the camera crew that was recording all this.

* * *

><p>3.5 Myself, The Burper, and Wildrook<p>

* * *

><p>Eren, Mikasa and Armin were sitting on the river bank in Zhiganshina, watching the water flow past tranquilly, Armin reading a book, Mikasa knitting, and Eren fishing.<p>

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where people can't read.**

"Hey Eren, what's this word right here, in my book?"

"I don't know Armin. I've never seen anything like it."

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where fish are dogs.**

Eren stared at the slobbering fish in his lap, which began licking his face.

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where people occasionally mistake their hand for a Titan.**

Eren looked down at his fishing rod, then grabbed his gutting knife and stabbed his hand. "Titan! Die Titan!"

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where Connie is a genius.**

...oh look, there's nothing here.

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where everything is made of shrimp.**

Armin yawned and nibbled on his sandwich. "Boring…"

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where Titans are Squirrels.**

Eren started wondering where his nuts were. And if he could borrow Armin's or Mikasa's.

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where girls are always on fire.**

Eren fished gutting his fish and strung it up over Mikasa's head. The oriental girl wondered when lunch would be finished.

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where Black Tea is illegal.**

Levi shot past the three, screaming something about the revolution and the doom of mankind.

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where thinking about Titans makes your head heavy.**

Eren gave his fishing pole a shake, thought a little, and fell in. "Argh!"

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where thinking about Titans make your head float.**

Eren flew off into the sky. "Later Armin! Later Mikasa!"

**MEANWHILE in a parallel universe where Badasses make wormholes.**

Mikasa yawned, then vanished in a burst of light.

**MEANWHILE in the main universe.**

Armin looked at the second Mikasa, and slammed his book shut. "Damn it, not again!"

* * *

><p>3.6 Detective Ethan Redfield<p>

* * *

><p>Wall Maria stood an impressive 50 meters. It was a powerful vantage point, where you could see for miles around. No Titan could approach without being spotted by members of the Garrison, if they had enough personnel to guard the entire perimeter of the massive fortification. Instead, they built towns at four locations along the wall, where Titans would be drawn to the gathered human settlement.<p>

Armin lay prone above the gaping hole that had once been the gateway to the town of Trost. In front of him rested a 50BMG Sniper rifle. Already slotted in the port was a magazine filled with incendiary, armor-piercing rounds, specially modified with a conjuration spell from the Harry Potter Loops. The clip would conjure additional rounds even as the magazine ran dry. In addition, he also coated each round in a small protego spell that would dissipate after impact with the target. Two reasons for this: first, to reduce air friction and drag, meaning the bullet would travel further along a straight path. Second, so the round wouldn't explode until it was deeper within the titan, making it more likely for the shot to kill the target.

As he looked down the scope, his theory came to mind, that as long as he hit the nape and severed the vertebrae of the human pilot within (though no human remains after being absorbed), the Titan would die. Already, a 10 meter Titan was wondering slowly towards the hole in the wall. He laid his scope on where the Adam's apple would be, lining up the shot to pierce the back of the neck. Finally, he allowed his mind to take in all the elements of a sniper, the wind direction, distance and weather, as he had learned from his time as Usopp.

With a twitch of his finger, the rifle's barrel gave a massive _crack_! as the shot exploded from the barrel at high velocity. The round cut through the air at an impressive speed unmatched by anything in his home universe. The shot tore through the Titan and knocked it off its feet. Armin pumped his fist at the successful hit and picked up a pair of binoculars he laid to the side. For a moment, nothing happened, then the entire titan started steaming. The blonde gave a small smirk as he shouted for Jean to watch the horizon for more Titans.

No one was going to die this loop, not if Armin could help it.

* * *

><p>3.7 Crossoverpairinglover<p>

* * *

><p>"...So, how does being the American President work, exactly?"<p>

"Well, from what I've seen from the times Padme's been elected on the left side of things: they basically are the face of government and are major factors in treaty and social changes. However, despite having no control of Congress, they are always blamed for anything going wrong there."

Armin gulped as the party below him was cheering for him having successfully won the nomination for being the next presidential candidate (he missed what party it was exactly). To his left was Anakin Skywalker, who was taking the role of his looping political adviser. To his right was Jean, who was the Vice President candidate.

Whose idea was this!?

He looked at Anakin in an accusatory gaze.

"Not me. I don't use the Force to help people win public office or political votes. I'm pretty sure Padme would kick me out for that, even if she never loops, if I ever tried that. I'm just here to keep you from embarrassing yourself."

* * *

><p>"...Do you think it's cruel to get Armin elected to public office?" Eren inquired of Mikasa as the two continued their DisneyWorld vacation.<p>

"No, not at all. So, do we do FantasyLand or TomorrowLand next?"

"TomorrowLand" Eren quickly decided.

* * *

><p>3.8<p>

* * *

><p>This was one of those supposedly rare but actually common situations that could best be described with the words 'bet gone wrong'.<p>

It had all started out the day after the winter solstice, and one of the first days where the cadets could leave the training fort and head out into the city. Naturally, like all teenagers, most slipped out into the night and began horsing around, sneaking into bars, going on dates and faking their way into strip clubs. For Jean, Eren and Armin, it was a rare time when the Anchors suspended their customary no drinking morals and hit the town and the liquor hard. All it took were a few Henge jutsu's to hide their age and they were free for the night. One bar turned into two, blurred into three, and Armin just lost track after four.

Yes, Eren, Jean and Armin proceeded to try and drink at every pub, bar, and restaurant serving alcohol that night. Party goers, waiters and waitresses, and a few brew masters would later claim they had seen the trio, all at different locations, all through-out the night. Word eventually got back to Shadis, who performed his customary chewing out, and then subtly congratulated the three for somehow surviving the ingestion of such a vast quantity of booze. The tale probably would have made the rounds later the next evening, and slowly but surely grow into its own, monolithic tale that would last for years within the camp, perpetuated, mutated and codified for successive generations of soldiers.

It would have... had it not been for what else* happened that night.

Eren groaned and shifted, his hangover slowly vanishing underneath the oppressive power of his metabolism. "Err... what happened?" Eren opened his eyes and shut them against the searing pain that lacerated his brain as the even the poor light was agony. Slowly but surely though, Eren managed to reopen his eyes, and blinked to rid himself of the double image.

Except that no matter how much or how hard he blinked, the double image remained. It was like he was looking down into the street, but was also looking at the inside of his arm. He was surrounded by houses and muscle.

The metaphorical penny dropped off the allegorical cliff Eren was standing on. The fifteen meter cliff. The hot, fifteen meter cliff.

Eren had titanized.

'Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!'

The drunken haze was evaporating quickly, and Eren, being the experienced looper he was, made his best decision of the night: run. The method in which he implemented the decision, EI, from within his Titan form, was one of his dumber moves. He was, after all, still fairly drunk.

The fifteen meter tall Titan sprinted down the streets, dodging left and right and over civilians and towns folk, all of whom were screaming in terror. Eren did his best to ignore the tinny, shrill noises they were making and tried to clear the gate. It was just when he was within line of sight of the gate outside of Trost that Eren saw something very terrifying; a little girl, stopped and staring at him.

Eren hit the brakes, massive feet planting themselves on the dusty road. The stones barely slowed him down, the boy in the massive beast willing himself to fall back to grab as much ground as he could. The girl was fifty meters away... thirty... ten...

Eren screeched to a halt, his colossal nose inches away from the girls face. The girl stared at him. He stared back at her. And then she began to cry.

Eren reacted as he thought was best, which is to say, poorly. Reaching into his pocket, he snatched up something (which he would later realize was a flashlight) and handed it to the girl. The little girl stopped crying, surprised by the sudden offering of a gift. Eren handed the flashlight to her, his massive fingers dwarfing her whole body, before standing up and running like hell through the gate.

The tale of the Gift Titan would soon make the rounds, despite the Wall Cult's many attempts to squash it. Eventually it would become an institution, a little gift exchange time. Giving gifts to the children of the walls, to reassure them that life could and would get better. And as for the infamous Gift Titan, well...

* * *

><p>(Three years later)<p>

* * *

><p>"Wow..." Connie stared at the fifteen meter class Titan that was fighting on the side of humanity. "BEST GIFT EVER!"<p>

* * *

><p>3.9<p>

* * *

><p>The quidditch pitch was empty, bar one inconceivably ancient being (and yes, that word means what you think it means), two ludicrously ancient beings, and three relatively old, but not ancient, beings. Above the six gathered, the cold grey skies of Scotland domed the pitch, sealing the world into the chilly autumn afternoon of the pitch.<p>

Down in the pitch, two woman faced each other. One was a bushy haired girl apparent age twelve actual age in the ballpark of five billion, the other was an oriental girl seemingly of age twelve, actual age about... five hundred eighty six. "When you are ready, Hermione."

Hermione had an eyebrow cocked; it had been that way all morning. "You actually want to try your strength against me Mikasa? You actually think you have a chance?"

Mikasa's eyes narrowed. "I must be ready to defend Eren and Armin from the dangers of the loops. I must fight you to see where I stand. So, when you are ready."

Hermione shrugged and turned to the stands, raising her voice with a wandless, wordless _sonorous_. "Do we really need to do this? You all know I'll knock her out before she moves three feet."

Up in the stands, Mikasa's fellow Anchors, Eren and Armin shouted encouragement at Mikasa, eager to see her fight. Needless to say, the concept of what Hermione was exactly did elude them. Next to them Ron and Harry were making subtle 'go for it' gestures, intrigued to see Hermione fight for once.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the veto and turned back to face Mikasa, who it seemed had emptied her subspace pocket ion to the wet grass, which ended up only containing a handful of guns, swords, gas canisters and one copy of the strange device alternatively called 3DMG and ODMG. The device, and it's similarity to Peter Parker's web-shooters, were what had pegged Hermione's interest. In fact, the promise of a copy had been what convinced Hermione to agree to the fight.

Mikasa finished her organization and readied her 3DMG, loading two swords to its trigger-hilts, and a third to her mouth. Hermione shrugged and pulled out her wand, thoroughly ignoring the urge to completely disrobe and she how Mikasa would react. Such acts were reserved for Sakura after all.

Up in the stands, Ron pulled out a starter pistol. "You blokes think your girlfriend is a good fighter, don't you."

Eren sent Ron a glare so ferocious, it registered on the Fluttershy scale. Armin aimed a more mundane glare at the Weasley boy. "As a matter of fact Ron, Mikasa is humanity's greatest soldier."

Ron nodded absently. "That's... pretty funny. Real funny." Covering his ears, Ron held the gun up and squeezed the trigger, a grand _bang_ filling the stadium...

...only to be drowned out seconds later by Mikasa's screams of agony as Hermione turned her inside out for a second.

"Well, I think I win. Now, I'll just be taking that 3DMG or ODM gear and we can be on our way." Hermione moved over the heaving, shuddering body of Mikasa, undoing her prize from her body. "I am sorry that you had to go through that, but the terms and conditions were to incapacitation, and there is nothing quite incapacitating or educational as being turned inside out." Hermione scratched her chin in recollection. "Naruto tried that one on John Wick once. Even he never knew he could do that. It's amazing what you can learn in the loops, right?"

Mikasa's eyes flicked to Hermione. "Wuh... Why?"

Hermione allowed a sad smile to cross her face. "Why did I beat you like that? It's because it's happened to me before. I've been beaten, humiliated, tortured, and worse throughout the loops. We all have. Sometimes I survived. Sometimes I died in seconds flat. Life in here is like that."

Hermione held out and hand and helped Mikasa to her feet. "You wanted to learn how to better protect Eren and Armin. I'm going to tell you something, here and now Mikasa. You're never going to be able to protect them. They will always be stubborn and willful and conniving and secretive, and everything that humans are. It's a fact of nature. It's not your fault. You're not behind them, but you can never go beyond them. You three are tied, inexorably, together."

Mikasa glanced away from Hermione and started walking towards the stands. Hermione rested a hand on the girl. "You're afraid of the day when the nebulous Anchor system will be removed, aren't you?"

The Asiatic girl sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'll live to see that day, and when I've made it to the end, I will do so as Eren and Armin's protector. I know what my place in life is. It's next to them."

Hermione's sad smile remained on her face, a little tear trailing down her face. "Mikasa... you're different from everyone else. You, Eren and Armin have something. Something you don't understand yet. Something amazing."

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow, eliciting a genuine chuckle from her elder counterpart. "You need to understand Mikasa, which amongst the whole multiverse, across its infinite breadth, there is but one world, your world, where three dear friends live, and fight, and win together. Together, if you keep your eyes focused on the horizon, always moving forward..." Hermione turned to look at the stands, where Harry and Rom restrained Eren and Armin fretted loudly over Mikasa.

"One day, you three will succeed even Harry, and Ranma, and Shinji, and Lina, and Naruto. Together, you become the greatest, and most powerful beings, in all of Yggdrasil. Never forget that. Never stop learning, and never stop moving forward."

Hermione clapped her hands together happily at her speech's end. "Well, now that that's cleared on out, dinner is at seven, and you'll meet me here at six o'clock sharp tomorrow."

Mikasa turned to Hermione. "Six o'clock? Why?"

"Because Miss Ackerman, Professor Granger's _Combat and Battle_ class begins tomorrow at that time. Tootles."

* * *

><p>3.10 Rockgolem<p>

* * *

><p>"Look at him go!" said Armin as he watched the blur of red streak past several titans making the largest one to turn to look and slam into the others causing them all to fall into a heap on the ground.<p>

"Oh look he's coming back and is it me or is he getting faster?" Eren wondered.

"Maybe it because of the giant titan following him?" said Mikasa.

The man in tattered red robes and a large pointy hat reached the gates and started screaming in several distinct ways. Armin looked over the edge of the wall and put a hand to his ear listening. "I think he said 'please open the gate' in Spanish, Chinese and Wookie."

"You speak Wookie"

"I spent a lot of time with Chewie last fused loop, we -"

Whatever Armin was going to say was lost as the giant titan pulled out the entire Iron Gate out of the wall with the red robed man still clinging on to it. Unnoticed to the three loopers a small butterfly landed next to them and flapped it wings once. The loopers could see man clinging onto the gate properly for the first time, he was, well scruffy, his beard was unkempt, his clothes were frayed and looked like they'd been repaired to the point there no more of the original material. Even the hat had seen better days, but one area was better cared for as the word WIZZARD stood out clearly.

The butterfly flapped its wings once again and the metal gate started to screech as the titan pulled it trying to get the man to fall into its mouth.

The oddly dressed man stopped screaming incoherently stared at them and started screaming at them to squish the damn butterfly. The loopers looked at each other and then at the small butterfly next to Mikasa wondering why the idiot on the gate was more worried about the butterfly than the titan about to eat him.

The butterfly flapped its wings once more.

The gate exploded into thousands of pieces as the man fell into the titan's waiting mouth which closed only to immediately open again as a shard of metal flew into the weak spot in the back of its neck. The loopers stared in disbelief as every titan the area screamed as the shards of metal entered their neck and died.

They found the man lying in a big mud puddle stained with the remains of the titans. "Are you okay?" asked Eren

"Potatoes"

"What?"

"I really could use some potatoes right now"

Armin looked at the other two who shrugged, he put his hand into his subspace pocket and pulled out a potato and gently gave it to the wizzard.

Mikasa tilted her head to the side. "Wow and I thought Sasha was odd." The wizzard was dancing around and kissing the potato and by that she meant the guy was practically making out with it.

"Thank you! Thank you! My name Rincewind and I'm -"

The man now named as Rincewind stopped and starred at the little butterfly that was landing on his potato. He threw the potato high into the air and took off running away from the wall and the loopers.  
>"Do you think he has a phobia about butterflies?" asked Armin<p>

"Must do, shame he seemed nice." replied Eren.

Within a week a story spread throughout the city. A man like no other had gone out alone to fight the titans and had won. Every titan was dead and they could finally live in peace, except there seemed to be a lot of storms and hurricanes outside the city so it was best not to leave yet. The world was saved by the Wizzard Rincewind and the people rejoiced until Armin got bored and started doing some experiments that nearly blew up the whole city but instead unleashed a new monster into the world leading to Eren, Armin and Mikasa having to hunt down the hordes of swamp dragons for the rest of the loop. So all's well that ends well.

* * *

><p>3.11<p>

* * *

><p>It was a glorious day.<p>

The sun was shining and warming the air just so, bringing the temperature to just above cold and just below hot. Clouds drifted lazily over the green, verdant hills, dappling the rolling meadows and fields with patches of cooler shadow. A chilled breeze fluttered along, whistling through the branches of the oak tree the three Anchors sat beneath, entangling itself lovingly with the wood. The leaves danced playfully, almost gleefully in the wind, adding their own rustles to the faint noises of nature, like the laughter of children at the carnival.

Well ensconced within the shade of the old oak, Armin marveled at the subtle beauty of the world beyond the walls. The tree was a lonely one, separated from the vast forests due south. Between it and the forest proper was merely a wide expanse of grassy plains and a rolling stream of crystal clear water. In the distance a pair of deer grazed, and a Titan idly wandered amongst the trees, for once docile and amenable. The wind picked up, jostling the far off evergreens, and plucking a few leaves from the aged oak tree he sat beneath, sending them spiraling downward. The wind threatened to play havoc with the edges of the red and white checkered blanket Armin had brought to sit on, but a few rounded stones held the tarp in place.

Eren finished pulling out the preparations for lunch, quickly assembling a sandwich. Roasted, salted and sliced pork fell on sweet rye bread slices, followed by Swiss cheese and two leaves of lettuce. Repeating the process once more, Eren switched ingredients too pork, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and onion. This sandwich found its way between Eren's lips, the soldier boy taking a minute bite from the confection. For a moment, he shut his eyes and savored the sensations of a well-crafted lunch, allowing the pungent sweetness of the onion and more subtle sourness of the tomato to conflict and merge with the fuller body of the cheddar and the savory pork, all mediated by the mundane and slightly salty rye and the crunch of the lettuce.

Mikasa smiled absently from her position leaning against the tree. Above her the leaves whispered in the wind, rustling with air. Below their vantage point the brook babbled along, the water slipping across the stones in graceful peace. A sudden pickup in the wind brushed the grass across the field, carding between the blades as a hand would through hair. The evergreen forest beyond whistled melancholically, almost despairingly, in the wind. Perhaps, Mikasa would imagine later, the trees wanted the company of herself and her family. Around her the air swirled up, nearly drowning out the noise of Eren and Armin breathing. That latter most noise, the sound of Eren and Armin, was calming to Mikasa, almost pathologically so. It reminded her of where she was in the world, and where she chose to be.

The trio allowed the many wonders of the world beyond the walls to surround them, warming them to the unfamiliarity freedom. Armin grabbed his sandwich presently and chowed down, enjoying the tastes of Eren's handiwork. Mikasa followed presently, slowly and much more content to simply lie in the shade and bask in her family's presence. Inside the clean air, a rare smell manifested. Clear, pure and free of rot. A rarity in the world of the walls, and something that had taken the three many years and loops to recognize. It was the smell of freedom. And they were, together, free.

The sights, the sounds, the tastes and the smells. The feeling of the warm sun and cool breeze and rough sheet. There was little left to describe, bar their thoughts. But those thoughts were, uniquely, identical. A single revelation danced through the minds of the Anchors of Attack on Titan. A lone, brilliant apotheosis of thought. A singular realization.

A thought: _'This must be heaven.'_

Good friends, good times, no fears. What is heaven, but that?

* * *

><p>3.12<p>

* * *

><p>Ulrich Stern smiled to himself as the loop reset. His memories kicked in a moment later, followed by a handful of pings, some natural, one with an almost phone tone feel to it. That meant that Xana was awake this loop, and so was almost everyone else. His memories didn't indicate any deviations from the norm either, so the loop looked baseline.<p>

Ulrich stretched languidly, lacing his fingers and cracking the joints. "Yup. Vacation loop. Been a while."

Jeremy was at his usual starting place, trying to get his morning coffee. "Hey Jer. How's the dishwater?"

Jeremy shrugged, feeding another quarter into the dispenser. "Bad, you know how it is. One day though, I'll make it taste good. One day..." The tech genius gave the machine a long, rueful look.

A pair of arms wrapped around Ulrich's waist. "Now isn't this my favorite man in the world?"

"Hey Yuyu," Ulrich turned and gave his girlfriend a kiss, Yumi reciprocating passionately. Beside them, Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"What, no kiss for me?" And enter William, a day early and a dollar rich. The American tossed Jeremy another quarter for the machine. "I miss anything these past few loops?"

"Xana decided to see how quickly they could conquer the planet with Tv Tropes. Took it down in just a week." Jeremy fed the new quarter into the machine. After a moment, the hot morning soup finally poured out...

...And missed the cup.

Jeremy glared at the machine, casually rewound time, and dropped a cup beneath the soup just as it dispensed. "Xana's getting better at that."

"Thank you," the dispenser said. No one really batted an eye that a coffee dispenser had just thanked him for a complement, but then again, everyone present were loopers. Weird was normal.

Will pointed out a staggered blond in the distance. "Don't look know, but Odd's going to have a rough loop."

Yumi and Ulrich broke out if their face sucking session to check out their oldest friend, only for Yumi to cock an eyebrow in annoyance. "And what exactly is wrong with a gender-flipped loop, Wilma*?"

William shrugged. "Ehhh... I don't think she's awake though." Sure enough, Odd walked by, seemingly in shock, but totally ignoring the group of her supposed friends. William did a quick count up. "Well, with the four of us, Aelita and Xana, we have six loopers, and six pings. Maybe she's just not Awake this loop?"

Jeremy pointed after Odd. "Does she look happy?"

"Well no, but-."

But Jeremy, Ulrich and Yumi were already walking after Odd, leaving William alone with the soup machine. "Those guys... ugh. I should go after them, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should," the Xana possessed soup dispenser said. William groaned slightly, but a he walked away, a little smile graced his features. Back at the dispenser, a student had removed a quarter with a string through it and was looking ready to drop it in the machine. "Don't even think about it," the dispenser said. The student fainted.

* * *

><p>"OH GOD, I DIED AND I'M IN HELL!" Odd screamed.<p>

'Well this be going better.' Yumi thought.

She and Ulrich had caught up with their unawake friend in the school's main courtyard, had managed to introduce themselves to the gender flipped Odd... but she had only stared at them like she hadseen a ghost. The Ulrich had decided to try and shake her out of whatever funk she was in. When that hadn't worked, Ulrich tried to just speak with her.

"Where do you think you are?"

The answer had been less then encouraging.

"I... I think I'm... I'm in hell."

And then she blew up, leading to the current tirade. "I'M DEAD I'M DEAD I'M DEAD OH SOMEONE HELP!"

Yumi shot Jeremy a covert look as students around the yard began to notice and stare at the girl who was clearly having a psychotic break. The blond heaved his sigh, said something to William, and psychically initiated a return to the past.

The timeline jolted, the flash of raw everything coursed through Yumi's veins, and suddenly she was back at the coffee dispenser, watching the Odd replacement walk by. "William!"

William tackled the stunned replacement and vanished with a crack of apparition. Yumi, Ulrich and Jeremy followed a second later.

The five students exploded back into existence on top of the factory that housed the supercomputer. The Odd replacement took one look at where she was before degenerating back into her screaming self.

"Hey hey hey, watch the ears sweetheart, we're not dead or deaf," William set her down gently and tried to clear out his ears. Yumi took the moment to try and figure out who they were dealing with.

The replacement looked like Odd: blond hair tied in a ponytail, purple and magenta clothes, even his crazy pumps. Notable was an equally purple jacket, with Odd lacked, and a bared midriff, which Odd avoided... Usually. Yumi took a step forward, holding up her hands placating. "There there. You're out of danger. You're safe here, with us."

Odd's replacement stopped screaming when she saw Yumi. A look of surprise was plastered on her face. "Mi... Mikasa?

Yumi winced, but managed to turn it into a comforting smile. "I'm sorry. My name is Yumi Ishiyama. Do you know a girl who looks like me?"

The girl gulped. "Yeah... she's humanity's greatest soldier." A look of something, almost comfort, seemed to cross the girl's red face. "Am I dead? Am I really dead?" The girl began to clutch her stomach compulsively.

Jeremy came up beside Yumi. "Did you die? Is that how you came here: you died?"

The girl gulped but nodded. "I was shot... in the stomach."

A wince ran through the loopers collectively. Jeremy frowned slightly, but took the only route he could see. "Can I ask you your name, Miss Della Robbia?"

Odd's replacement seemed to pause and collect herself, before speaking. "Back home, my name was Sasha Braus."

* * *

><p>Sasha did admit, silently, to herself, that the whole idea of the loops scared her. It seemed like the only reasonable reaction to the news that she was essentially immortal. She did acknowledge, intellectually, that she could be killed. She knew that she had been killed.<p>

Sasha's hand drifted to her stomach again, reassuring herself that it was dry, its skin unbroken, and her intestines still within her body. It was still a sickening sensation to recall being shot in the stomach with an explosive bullet. Sasha squeezed her hand into a fist and pulled it away from her stomach... for a moment. It did help to remind herself that it wasn't bleeding.

Ulrich tapped at the sketch he had made for Sasha. "This is Odd, as he is usually. He's a pretty good guy, friendly, funny, smart to."

Sasha rested her head on her fist. "So he's... what, dormant or something? Unawake?"

"More or less."

Sasha scratched at her chin, wondering for a moment what would happen when the so called "loop" would end. The implications that came to mind were... disturbing. Sasha pulled herself to her feet and walked to the railing.

Before her was a warehouse so miraculously, hilarious complex that she really couldn't contextualize most of it. Oh, she could understand some parts of it: here and there were conveyor belts, off to the side was an elevator, and the middle of the big room was empty, probably for storage. Beyond that, Sasha's lack of familiarity hampered any further understanding of what she was seeing. That said, looking at the whole of it all, seeing the strangeness in its unapologetic form, was marginally more comforting then thinking about her death, and how she had been spared it by the loops. "This place... It's amazing."

Ulrich clapped her on the shoulders. "Wait till you see Lyoko kid. Then you can judge what's amazing and not."

Sasha chuckled, a dash of levity adding much needed flavor to her day. "Lyoko. It's that fake world inside a computer you mentioned, right?" A look of confusion colored Sasha's face. "What is a computer anyway?"

Ulrich pondered the question, hopping over the railing and dropping to the floor of the factory. Sasha followed behind him, landing with the loud click of rubber soles on concrete. "I guess you could say a computer is like a giant clockwork brain that uses wires and electricity, you know what electricity is right? Well it uses electricity to act like a giant and powerful brain. You got that?"

"Uhh..."

Ulrich stepped into the freight elevator and gestured for Sasha to get in beside him. Closing the blast doors and calling for the console level, Ulrich decided to show her.

The doors opened to the console. A devirtualized Aelita was already seated at the monitor, William to one side of her seat, Jeremy on the other. The girl genius smiled at Sasha's politely incredulous looks when she noticed the pink hair, and spread her arms. "Welcome, Sasha Braus, to my home."

Sasha managed to squash her surprise and shook a proffered hand. "So you're the Anchor I've been hearing about? I gotta ask, do all Anchors have weird hair, or is it just you?"

Aelita gave her pink locks a shake in bemusement. "Oh, a few here and there. I'm hardly the only pinkette in the multiverse."

Jeremy slid into Aelita's former set and brought up a few screens. The center of the room, a large holo-projector, flickered to life with a riot of starlight, before settling into the five sectors of Lyoko. A moment passed, before the projection flickered and was replaced with Xana's latest incarnation. "Well well, what do we have here?"

Sasha, not grasping what the projection was, lunged at Xana. "HANGE!" The attempted tackle hug merely resulted in Sasha smashing into the far wall. She pointed at the vaguely bemused computer program's projection. "Uh... why is Hange a ghost."?

"Holographic projection, shaped light, and get out if there Xana." Jeremy answered. The computer program rolled their eyes and vanished, the hologram of Lyoko replacing them. Jeremy nodded towards the projector. "That was out resident artificial intelligence, Xana. They're a little strange, but who wouldn't be: they are an artificial human."

Sasha nodded, not completely understanding. "Okay..."

William very* easily heard the tone. He couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. To him, Sasha wasn't just a visitor, she was a rare chance that only appeared once in a million loops: a potential student. "Let's get you onto Lyoko sweetheart. Maybe them you'll understand."

"Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Yumi. Scanner Sasha."

"Virtualization."

Sasha felt a raging feeling, almost as if she was trapped in an unstoppable river, before a sudden... discombobulation was probably the best word. The heel of this feeling heralded a sense of not being all there. And slowly, then suddenly, she felt herself reassemble. It was possibly the most amazing and abnormal feeling she had ever experienced.

The world in front of her was a vast icy tundra. Around her the digital sea hummed with noise. Next to her Yumi and Ulrich began stretching. "Sasha, never forget to limber up. It always helps," the Mikasa look-a-like said.

"No it doesn't." A human being of indeterminate gender appeared in front of the trio. Sasha very narrowly caught herself this time. "So... you're Xana."

The bespectacled computer program cracked a smile on their face. "Pleased to meet you miss Braus. I can guess you're wondering why I look like this." For the iteration, Xana had selected a form that Sasha was rather familiar with. Dark red hair and goggles, wearing a long green cloak, all without any specific gender identity. The only difference from the original were three large shackles on his right bicep. "Does this form... appeal to you?" The program winked at Sasha, eliciting an awkward silence from the assembled.

"Alright," William said as he and Aelita virtualized into Lyoko. "Who did Xana embarrass this time?"

Sasha timidly raised a hand. "Uh... why does he look like Hanji? Can he read minds?"

The assembled allowed the awkward silence to return for a moment. Aelita coughed into her fist, directing Sasha's focus to her. "First off, Xana doesn't enjoy gendered pronouns-"

"Meh, easy mistake."

"And secondly... have you ever heard of the literary world's hypothesis?"

* * *

><p>The constructed Titan walked through the vast reconstruction of Trost, idle and seemingly stupid. A trail of steam followed Ulrich, the seasoned Looper having quickly gotten a handle on the strange apparatus and now using it like a pro. Behind him Xana barreled along, their own analytical genius enabling the program's otherwise insane maneuvers.<p>

The Titan remained unmarked when Ulrich shot past, his twin katanas just missing the Fake Titan's skin. Xana adjusted the path of their 3DMG, just driving twin Bisento through the constructed Titan's weak spot. With a burst of pixels, the monstrous creation vanished.

As the duo maneuvered through the streets of the digitally reconstructed, Jeremy appraised them of the actions of the other teams. Yumi and Aelita had managed two kills between them, while Sasha and William had managed to down their own Titan, but at the cost of... well, William. Ulrich took a breather, adjusting his flight path and landing atop a church's belfry. "Damn... two hours and only four of these things down. Are you sure you programmed these things right?"

Xana shrugged as they landed next to Ulrich. "I've poured over the manga, analyzing every detail and facet of the Titans. What you're fighting is an accurate representation of their ability and lethality, down to a three percent difference."

Ulrich felt his heart weaken, even if it was purely a psychological response. "So these things... they could..."

"Relax." Xana allowed a smile to dance onto their features. "The Titans are strong, but not that strong. If you used any sort of supernatural powers, or even built up your skills, you could be a decent fighter."

Ulrich shrugged, his gaze crossing the entire expanse of the artificial Trost, another recreation of Xana's. In the grand distance, he could see a lone steam trail, one that belonged to Sasha. "To think she survived these things... and died anyway. Her world's fucked up."

Xana chuckled warmly, a noise that seemed beyond the circumstance. "You should have seen Warhammer. Darkness and pain, all the way down. No meaning or reason; only war. At least her world seems to be peaceful on its better days."

Ulrich wrung his hands. "She was shot. By a human. Titans, humans, sometimes she makes it sound like the only difference between them is height." The young man nodded to himself. "Isn't that so damn human. Death by disagreement. Killing others because they think differently."

Xana didn't rebuke Ulrich, merely sat down next to him. "She's a good girl. A tad eccentric, but who isn't. She'll be stronger... she deserves to be stronger."

A nod was her answer. "Amen to that."

* * *

><p>Sasha shoveled her breakfast into her mouth, washing the mash down with a tall glass of sparkling clear water. "I love this place."<p>

Yumi nodded in silent agreement. "Most loopers aren't really accustomed to how we operate. Between the digitalization and the fact that Xana is typically our antagonist, things are pretty chill around here.

Sasha cut Yumi off at that. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean all of this." Sasha spread her arms in an expansive gesture, encompassing her plate and those around her. "All this food, and it's so easy to find. You could feed an army with this. No one ever goes hungry."

Yumi pursed her lips, preventing herself from pointing out that unfortunately the latter fact wasn't true. She jumped on the implied topic. "So why are you so obsessed with food anyway? We've had you here for weeks and all you ask about, every day, is what's on the menu."

Sasha giggled around a mouthful of beef stew before swallowing. "It's just so good to have this much food for once. It isn't everyday we have this much in... what did you call it, the Attack on Titan verse?"

Yumi nodded. "Yeah. You know, you'll taking the whole, 'you're a manga thing' real well. Odd nearly had an aneurism when he saw our cartoon."

Sasha stuffed a bit of bread into her mouth. "Band ow did ooh reack?"

"I chucked the TV out the window."

Sasha and Yumi shared a laugh. The redhead rested her hand in her palm, staring out into the mostly deserted courtyard. A little breeze wafted the trees on the edge. "An entire multiverse... man I hope that the potato girl nickname didn't stick with me. Maybe I should ask Eren when I get back."

Yumi nodded, her mind wandering to the boy she had pegged as the Anchor. He seemed powerful and important enough to make it to the end of the loop; law of narrative causality dictated his survival. But with so many people dying so often, the idea of Eren not reaching the end was a frighteningly likely possibility. "Maybe you should talk to that Mikasa girl instead."

Sasha shrugged. "Maybe. She isn't the most emotive person... then again, with Eren around, she can be pretty forward." Sasha cracked a smile at Yumi. "You're a lot better at being a human though. Sometimes I wonder of she's a robot or something."

"She could be a clone. She has the whole 'Rei Ayanami' thing going on. Dreadnought name, stoic to the point of fault, brilliant fighter, orphan... she's a good call to replace Rei actually."

"Rei Ayanami... isn't she that girl from what's his faces universe, Shinji's?"

Yumi nodded. "Rei's from Evangelion. Actually, come to think of it, there's a lot of similarities between Evangelion and Attack on Titan. Maybe they're in the same branch or something..."

Sasha are her food. "Yah yah. Dat's fir later."

Yumi glared at Sasha with more then a hint of disgust. "Please eat with you mouth closed Sasha."

Sasha beamed.

* * *

><p>Sasha, William reflected, was a fair bit different from Odd.<p>

The similarities weren't universally skin deep. Both had the wanton energy, the love of food, and the appreciation of archery. Odd may have been a bit more carefree, or maybe Sasha was just a touch more serious, but they seemed like brother and sister at first and even second glance.

But their was an almost fundamental difference between the two: their focus. Odd was a whirlwind, energy spilling out and pooling and conflicting and spirally beyond his control. Sasha was tight, focused, and direct. Her actions seemed to belay that basic focus.

William watched passively as Sasha hurtled through the streets of Xana's recreated Trost, swinging twin blades with practiced ease. She scored direct hit after hit, her natural ability in the 3DMG aiding her maneuvering skills. As she approached an abnormal Titan, she held out both hands and unleashed a barrage of Laser Arrows at it's face, a few finding their marks and rupturing the Titan's eyes. Quickly hopping aboard the Overboard, Sasha disengaged the 3DMG that Jeremy had programmed for her and achieved another textbook kill.

William could remember his earliest loop. He had been knocked loose by the crash, adrift for the months he had spent at home in America. When he had finally made it back to the sweet land of France, he had to resist kissing the ground. This had lead to a rather embarrassing encounter with Aelita, who was bored and thought he hadn't been awake. The prank, though fun, wasn't exactly the sort of thing he brought up in usual conversation. William could see something similar in Sasha's eyes. A vague, but powerful, wanderlust. Homesickness, mixed with a stir craze that he could understand all too well. To think that Sasha's first loop had been here of all places...

William watched Sasha hook onto a Titan's nape and pepper it with Laser Arrows, managing to just kill the Titan. "Not bad!"

"Not bad? I was freaking AWESOME!" Sasha shouted. William chuckled and dismissed the fact. She as good, great even. Sasha was a rare combination of hard work and talent, one that would go far in the loops.

Or at least, that was what William hoped would happen.

* * *

><p>Inside the hallowed halls of Kadic Academy, Xana finished their hair, pulling on the reddish bun and looking in the mirror. "Well, I'll say this about your friend Hange, they do look nice."<p>

"You're just a bit of a narcissist, that's all," Sasha affirmed. Xana barked a laugh. "Besides, you got everything else down about him. You'll fine."

Xana smiled again at their roommate. "Well... to a good final day?"

Sasha held out a fist, which Xana bumped. "To a good final day."

The Lyoko Warriors alongside their greatest adversary and the newest recruit had chosen to gather at the factory for final goodbyes. The assembled bore out their farewells with gifts and well-wishes. Jeremy and Aelita supplied Sasha with a specially customized digitizer, a device that would allow her to access her Lyoko form at will. Xana provided a picture and frame; a picture from earlier in the year adoring it. Yumi and Ulrich simply gave her their best, and one last chocolate bar for the road.

The last gift almost put tears in Sasha's eyes though.

William had been assembling a bow for Sasha for several years. It was a simple composite design, but modified to be used with 3DMG. It could be hooked to the hilt of a control stick and used with the free hand. It also came with a large quiver of over a thousand arrows of dozens of types. Freeze arrows, explosive ones, grappling hooks and trick explosives, all packages into one. Together, it nearly drove the huntress to tears.

And suddenly, just as Sasha was saying goodbye, it was over. No poof, no pop, just the factory one minute, the next was her home.

As the evening waned, Sasha decided it was a good time to go talk to her parents. It would be a long, hard road ahead.

* * *

><p><strong>3.1: Neon Genesis Titanic!<strong>

**3.2: Hanji/Hange is my favorite character.**

**3.3: Cue the Jaws theme.**

**3.4: Titan May Cry.**

**3.5: MEANWHILE!**

**3.6: Armin plus Anti-tank rifle equals awesome.**

**3.7: Armin plus political power equals funny.**

**3.8: Titan Claus.**

**3.9: Armin, Mikasa and Eren will, one day, surpass even the Original Seven.**

**3.10: Even the Titans are no match for Rincewind.**

**3.11: A single, unfathomably good day.**

**3.12: Loops, Thy Name is Sasha!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: One of my typical customs is to lead these stories with an authors note, but due to recent issues dealing with my schedule, I've been having difficulties with doing that. As such, all I have to say is:**

**I do not claim to own the source material of this work. If I did, things would not be nearly as brutal.**

* * *

><p><strong>4.1 (Continuing 3.12)<strong>

* * *

><p>Sasha stretched her muscles as she delved further into the woods, the euphoria of seeing her parents again fading. Being back in her home village was a thrill, especially after two years in an alternate world. It was almost unreal...<p>

Sasha pulled her digitizer out of her subspace pocket. It certainly felt fairly real. The auburn haired girl stashed the digitizer in her pocket and activated it, shifting into her Lyoko form and rendering her Overboard. In seconds, Sasha was airborne and on a southerly bearing.

The Overboard, its' energy derived from a small fusion cell within the digitizer, carried Sasha towards Shiganshina at a breakneck speed, the gap between her and the frontier closing. Wall Rose passed beneath her with no trouble, but in the distance Sasha could already see steam rising. "Damn it Bertolt, don't you dare hurt anyone."

But as Sasha entered Shiganshina airspace, she could already see that whatever Titan Vanguard that had been attracted to the city was falling on the blades (and what looked like light sabers) of two very unhappy loopers. Sasha slowed and brought her Overboard into a wide holding pattern, before spotting her target sitting on the lip of a roof and landing gently next to him. "Hey Eren, guess what?"

"You... want a potato?" Sasha playfully tossed her board at Eren for the jibe, who chuckled lightheartedly around some popcorn he was eating. "Hey Sasha. This doesn't look like any sort of normal gear for our world. You got it out of loop, right?"

Sasha reversed her digitalization and plopped herself down next to Eren. "Pretty much. The Lyoko Warrior's world. Pretty... nice compared to here."

Eren nodded knowingly. "Lots of places like that."

A Titan took notice of the two Loopers, only for it's head to explode violently. Sasha winced as Mikasa rocketed past. "What's gotten into her?" A very loud scream in the distance later, Sasha amended, "Her and Armin?"

Eren shrugged and held up his right arm. "Last loop I didn't argue my humanity well enough and got executed by the state."

Sasha stared at Eren, silent for a moment. Eren very hastily followed up with "But I'm fine. I'm alive and kicking again, all intact. I'm fine."

Sasha watched Mikasa destroy another Titan violently. "Okay... So, you are the Anchor right?"

Eren nodded, and then shook his head. "It's... complicated. Our loop's seriously damaged. The Admins can't tell who'll live, so they decided to have me, Armin, and Mikasa all be Anchors. Crazy, huh?"

Sasha watched Armin Force-Destroy a Titan. "Yeah... Real crazy... Armin and Mikasa are going to be alright, right?"

Eren shrugged. "Just don't look at me funny this loop and you'll be safe."

A blond man landed next to Sasha seconds later. "Wow, would you look at them go. They must be pissed." He nodded to Sasha. "Hello there. You're new."

Sasha cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you the Garrison soldier who got eaten?"

"Well aren't you the Survey girl who kept stealing food?" Hannes shot back

Eren stopped eating his popcorn and looked at Sasha and Hannes. "Play nice you two."

Sasha looked at the battlefield, swamped with dissolving Titan bodies, and pulled out a few coins. "Five coins says Mikasa has the bigger body count."

Hannes chuckled. "Ten says Armin."

"Deal."

* * *

><p><strong>4.2 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren held a bucket of oats to Jean, who looked rather annoyed.<p>

"I don't like oats!"

"Well, you're a horse this loop Jean, that means you eat oats" Eren was going to have fun this loop.

"Technically Eren, he's a Centaur" Armin pointed out.

"Why the hell am I a Cent-whatsit anyway!?" Jean stamped his hooves in annoyance.

"Look at it this way, the Titans probably won't eat you this loop" Armin pointed out their strict human diet. Centaurs weren't human...

"He is going to need archery lessons though, he can't really use ODM gear anymore" Eren snickered at the mental image of ODM gear for Centaurs.

"Laught it up Titan boy...I know where you sleep"

"Yes, on a second floor this loop with no elevator and a narrow stairway"

* * *

><p><strong>4.3 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren had no idea what was up with this cloudy temple.<p>

Was this some sort of variant loop with Skypeia?

Sky Titans?

Really bad architects?

**EREN YAEGER GOES ROGUE!**

Giant letters formed around him, only adding to his confusion.

What the...

The green dressed elf, short boxer with green gloves and the blue haired swordswoman who landed around him didn't help his confusion not so ever.

Though the thought of 'smash' came to mind for some reason in context that did not involve the Hulk, oddly enough

* * *

><p><strong>4.4 Rockgolem<strong>

* * *

><p>Three boys stared up at the monsterous titan as it ate their friend.<p>

"Oh my god they killed Kenny!"

"You bastards!"

The Titan merely wondered how the boy in the orange parka had ended up in it's mouth. It had been aiming for the fat red one.

* * *

><p><strong>4.5<strong>

* * *

><p>There was a knock at the door to the women's barracks. Most of the trainees ignored the knocking, either too preoccupied with studying, or trying to socialize. One girl, Krista Renz, broke from her conservation with Ymir to get the door, much to the latter's chagrin. "Hello?"<p>

"Hey... Krista? Is Mikasa in here? I need to talk to her."

Krista smiled sweetly, wondering internally if her smile looked fake. "Oh sure. I'll check for you right now." Gently closing the door while trying not to close it too gently and come off as fake, Krista turned on her heel and marched to Mikasa's bed, where the girl was lying face down in her pillow and trying to block out the world. "Eren's at the door for you," she said cheerfully.

"Mm maw here," Mikasa said.

"Come again?" Krista leaned in and turned an ear in Mikasa's direction.

The girl repeated, a tad more clearly this time, "I'm not here."

Krista smiled, and with an "okay", left Mikasa's bedside and opened the door again, facing Eren. "She's not in here at the moment. Maybe later?" A smile that would have looked fake on anyone else's face settled onto Krista's.

Eren groaned slightly and sagged, looking quite exhausted for some reason. "Okay. If you do hear from her though, could you at least ask her to come talk to me?"

Krista nodded. "Sure." She closed the door. Eren stared at the mesh door, worried an waiting. After a minute, the door opened again, and there stood Mikasa, her expression of regret and exhaustion simply too old for her fifteen year old face. Neither sibling spoke for a moment, but when the silence became unbearable, Eren broke it.

"So... I guess we shouldn't talk about this... thing, here. You want to go somewhere else?"

Mikasa nodded tiredly, a slight grimace worming its' way on to her features. She stepped fully out into the sunlight and began leading Eren away. The duo walked through the camp, finally arriving at the cliff just above the nearby lake. Mikasa gestured for Eren to sit down, and waited.

"Mikasa... look, about what I said, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so... so... angry."

"You're always angry. I don't blame you for being angry at me." A wind wafted through, blowing on Mikasa's hair. "It's natural to be angry."

Eren dropped his head, heavy as his heart, into his hands. "I can't believe... why. Why... why tell me?"

Mikasa inhaled deeply, centered herself, and exhaled. "I told you about the loops because I couldn't bear not to tell you. I was selfish and I should've been more pragmatic, but I simply had to tell you. I don't know..." Mikasa felt her composure wavering. "... If I hadn't told you, I don't know what I would have done. This is a very specific instance Eren. I don't see it often in the loops."

"But..." Eren looked on the verge of tears. "But Mikasa... I love you."

Mikasa allowed her facade to drop, her emotions laid bare for a moment. "And I love you Eren. But I don't love you romantically."

Eren remained silent as Mikasa got rolling. "Eren, you and Armin, together, are the two people I could never love more. I can't express it... not really. You are my closest confident, my dearest friend, my beloved brother. I only want the best for you, and that means being honest with you about my feelings. You and your Mikasa... you've spent years together, first as friends, and then as a couple. I can't help but think that I stole her away from you. But me and my Eren and Armin have been together longer then you have words to describe. Our feelings for each other are ineffable."

"When I woke up this loop, in bed with you, my first thought was shock. But when I realized that only I and Armin were awake, I was afraid. I couldn't bear to be your lover, to hide the truth from you when you trusted me so much. To you, I was someone who could never be replaced, the center of your whole universe. I couldn't take that for granted, not when I knew who you are and who you could be. I don't love you romantically, not do I love your looping counterpart. That's why I told you. Because I couldn't be the person you needed me to be."

Silence fell upon the two like the freshest, purest snow. Neither for a long while, staring out on to the lake below the camp. Eren was lost in thought, Mikasa hoping that she had said the right thing. The sun moved through the sky, and finally came to rest not too far above the horizon, casting long ribbons of darkness from Mikasa and Eren. Eren rubbed at his eyes in a vain attempt to dry them, and spoke.

"So this is what we are now? Two people who love each other, but... differently."

Mikasa wrapped her arms around the boy who had become her brother. "It's all we can hope for. Our lives are dark and ugly things, but they can be beautiful all the same. We just need to accept that."

"And would you rather have a few years as lovers, or an eternity as friends?" The two soldiers turned out of their hug to see a familiar blond approaching. "You're an amazing man Eren, but I'll always see you as my brother."

Eren allowed a light smile, one filled with more than a little bit of poorly disguised pain, to cross his face. "Well at least I happen to have good friends normally. Hey Armin."

Armin sat down next to his brother's doppelgänger and sister. "We're sorry that you had to learn about the loops Eren. Usually we try to spare the unawake the pain of knowing about them." A grimace flirted with Armin's expression. "You can have an almost normal life, but we're blessed and doomed to always exist. Never growing, barely changing. It's... it is its own little hell. But at the same time there is beauty in it."

Mikasa produced some photos for Eren. He gently picked through them. Pictures of families, his mom and dad and Mikasa, and even her parents and Armin's family, all intact and smiling at the camera. More photos showed gorgeous worlds and impossible vistas, and the many eccentric personalities that populated them. "Eren, I found my place in my life a long time ago; right by your and Mikasa's side."

"And my place is right on yours and Armin's," Mikasa affirmed. "I wouldn't trade the world for it... unless you asked me to," she amended.

Eren stopped on a single, solitary photo. "Where was this taken?"

Mikasa and Armin looked over Eren's shoulder. The photo was a single and simple affair, showing a lone house perched precariously on one of the Walls. Mikasa tapped her chin, mentally rewinding a bit. "That was taken on Wall Maria. We decided to take a vacation from Titan slaying and enjoy a solitary life. It helped that we had plugged the hole at Shiganshina before the Armored Titan could get in."

Eren set the picture aside, and wrapped his arms around his knees in thought. "I guess... I guess I am different out there in the loops. To think I would give up battling the Titans and live in a farm house. To become a piece of human cattle."

Mikasa and Armin hugged Eren. "Eren, you're so much more than that in the loops. We can never, ever, see you as anything short then our brother, and neither can you. Me and Armin asked, and you said yes," Mikasa said.

Eren looked out into the falling dusk. "I guess..."

The silence, a comfortable and enjoyable breed of quiet, returned. Mikasa closed her fist and forced down her emotions again, allowing her facade to return. Had she been anyone else, Mikasa may have affirmed herself that she would defend this Eren, even though it would be almost meaningless. Mikasa though, was Mikasa. She would always defend Eren, in every form he took.

She was his sister. She could not bear to do any less.

* * *

><p><strong>4.6 SeaOfFallingStars<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren wondered where Armin was taking him alongside Hannes, Sasha, and Mikasa this loop. He said he found a group of allies, but Eren was needed to get them to join. They were in a canyon, and the rocks were large enough that he thought that Titans, if under the command of a leader, could ambush them all. He held his hand near his mouth just in case.<p>

"Eren, don't worry. These guys will help us; you just need to knock some sense into them."

"Will we be there soon? I ate all my daily rations and I'm about to raid my Pocket for more!"

"Sasha, quiet! Armin always has a plan."

The majority dove for cover when a metallic... _thing_ flew over screeching. Mikasa had her swords out and Sasha her bow, only for the flier to perch on a boulder.

"These those Loopy allies you told us about Armin?" Sasha asked

"Yes, Swoop. Now where's Grimlock? I promised him a fight with Eren so you guys would help us."

Swoop jumped off the boulder and shifted into a mechanical Titan, causing Eren to bite his hand and shift to protect his allies.

"Eren, stop! He's not the one you're going to fight!"

"So this is who you've got for the boss to fight. This'll be interesting, assuming Slug don't get uppity and gore him for no reason."

The others looked nervous at the thought of another mechanical Titan that could easily take down Eren. Swoop paused and leaned to face them.

"Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Swoop, bombardier and outsider liaison of the Dinobots. Armin ran into us the other day and asked for our help. Told Grimlock he'd get to fight the Anchor first. He accepted, but we're getting antsy."

"So, you're not a titan?"

"Titan? Primus no! I've met Metroplex a few times, but I ain't ever been a Titan! I doubt any of us could handle it."

Reassured by the friendly, if rambling, tone of Swoop, they followed him into a clearing where five more mechanical Titans lay. Armin started pointing and naming each one. The one that was smallest was actually _called_ Dinobot, but when with the others he was Slash. The largest was a ponderous brute named Sludge, who seemed content in the pond he was resting it. The next two were Slug and Snarl, a pair of spiky quadrupeds who both had nasty tempers. The last, and by far the most menacing, was Grimlock.

"This be our challenger? Look like he go down in two, three hits. Not much challenge for Me Grimlock to take out. He be one of you Armin's stonger 'Titan' enemies?"

"Yes, Grimlock. The only one I know of that's tougher is Re-er, the Armored Titan. Slug would be able to break his armor in one charge."

Before anyone could prepare, Eren roared and tried to tackle Grimlock, who broke one of his legs with his tail. This didn't stop Eren, who bit into Grimlock's neck and threw him into a cliff. Slug looked over, and Sludge had woken from his nap. The Dinobot leader roared and exhaled a long gout of flame, covering Eren to the point where seeing him would be hard. It didn't help much, as he came charging through and punched Grimlock across the head, shattering his fist in the process. The alien lizard bit down on his other arm, ripping the fist off and throwing it up, swallowing it.

"Eren not stronger than Grimlock! If this be strength of Titans here, why fight them?"

"Because if you don't, they'll just keep eating us like you did his hand!"

"Don't bother; once Grim's like this it takes a bit to knock him out of it. Your friend's doin' real well considering he lost both hands and has a bad leg."

"That won't stop Eren. In Baseline he loses all his limbs and takes down his enemies anyway."

Grimlock moved to face his opponent, crouching and surging forward, intent on finishing the fight and almost knocking Eren out of his Titan form. When he almost got within bite distance, Eren slapped him with his mangled hand, sending Grimlock flying into another cliff. Roaring, Eren jumped onto the prone form and slammed his head into the rocks multiple times. Swoop smiled at the sight.

"Well, it looks like we'll be following ya. So, where're we headed to crack skulls?"

"Trost. We're lucky it hasn't happened yet, but you guys will make it if not easier, a whole lot more hilarious."

Eren had returned to his human form and glared at Grimlock.

"You fight with me to take down the Titans, or I'll kill you."

"Grimlock call that fair. Never was one to tolerate bullies."

Armin started telling the others to get on the Dinobots, so they could charge into Trost and take down the attacking Titans. This time, it was going to be interesting to see how they handled the trial.

* * *

><p><strong>4.7<strong>

* * *

><p>Sasha stared at Eren, and then at the stomach of his partially formed and rotting Titan that he had created deep within the forests of Wall Rose. Specifically, at the purple flowers that had grown within the crouch of it's torso. "Hey... Eren. What're those exactly?"<p>

"Hmm?" Eren pulled his arm out of the malformed Titan. "What was that Sasha?"

Sasha pointed at flower. "You're growing flowers when you Titanize. By the way, what is this anyway?"

Eren examined the purple flower. "Don't know: I'm a doctor, not a botanist. Besides, does it matter?"

The newest looper of the bunch shrugged her shoulders, plucking the flower and slipping it into her breast pocket. Standing back up Sasha asked, "Well, I think it matters. I mean, Jean said it himself, we don't even have a lead on your Titan powers. This may be what cracks the case."

Eren stopped for a moment, an imperceptible look congealing onto his face. A wind blew, ruffling his hair and shaking the trees of the forest. Eren turned and left. "One flower, two, an orchard of them? It doesn't matter. It's just circumstantial."

Sasha spared one final look at the strange flowers before following Eren. "It's there, isn't it?"

Eren shook his head. "Here one loop, gone the next. Forget it Sasha. You'll get used to it. That's the way of the loop."

A final glance at a strange phenomenon... a piece of beauty created by a Titan... and Sasha was following her Anchor.

* * *

><p><strong>4.8<strong>

* * *

><p>Stohess District:<p>

Their was a knocking at the door. A curt, quick knock, loud enough to be heard and rouse a few of the girls in the room from their slumber, but immediate enough to be dismissed by most. A blonde with showered hair rolled over in her bed. "Get that Kara," she murmured

"You get that Hitch," Kara grumbled back.

"No, I said it first. You get it."

"No you."

"No you."

"No you!"

"No-"

Annie got out of her bed, threw her pillow at Hitch to shut her an Kara up, and got the door. The people behind it were really the last ones the Military Policewoman had expected.

"Meet us out at the stables. Commander Dawk has some important information regarding the recent expedition into Wall Maria," Connie Springer said. Annie stared at the smaller boy before nodding.

"Tell him I'll be a minute Connie."

A quick change of clothes (and the addition of her special ring) later, Annie had left the building and was at the stables, her awareness increasing further when she saw that Connie had Bertold and Reiner for company. Naturally, Commander Dawk was nowhere to be seen. "I take it we're making our move?"

Reiner shook his head, saddling his horse. "Connie said that we needed to get you out of Stohess before too late in the evening. Apparently you're in danger." The clueless look on Reiner's face was... not encouraging for anyone. It was like he had forgotten what he was doing in the walls.

Considering everything that had been going on and what Bertold had been telling Annie, it looked like his sickness, as Bertold referred to it, had not gotten better. Fortunately, a horse was already saddled for Annie and Connie was giving the all clear sign. In moments, the four had scrambled onto their horses and were riding out into the territory of Wall Rose.

The crisp night air and the silver moonlight brought Annie fully to her senses as she and her company rode on. The dim light of the distant satellite cast dancing shadows over the rolling plains and grassy knolls. The stars, so high above flickered with their strange light. For a brief instant, Annie, Bertold and Reiner forgot their worries, and simply rode with the nature rhythms of their steads.

Presently, Bertold fell back and came alongside Annie. "Annie, what do we do? Reiner isn't all there and Connie might be aware of what's happening. We can't-"

"Quiet Bertold." Annie gripped her reins tighter. "Connie might have figured part of this out, but he isn't smart enough to figure us out."

"But what if it's a trap?"

Annie allowed a weak smirk to form on her face. "Of course it's a trap. The only question is whether or not they know we know it's a trap. If they don't, then it's our escape route."

"And if they do?"

"..." Annie tightened her grip on the reins and urged her horse faster.

As the moon began to set and the dawn hurried ever closer, Connie, Annie, Bertold and Reiner came to stop in a small grove of trees. Tying their horses up, Connie led them to a small rock outcrop at the edge of the woods. "Me and my dad used to play here all the time. We should be fairly well hidden here from anything coming from the village."

"That's good," Annie said as she laid down next to Connie. "But I think we'd prefer an explanation as to why we're here instead of a piece of your personal history."

"Is that your village?" Bertold asked, ruining Annie's argument.

Connie nodded, looking like he was trying to sink deeper into the cold stone. "It is." He pulled a pair of binoculars out and began scanning, first to the north, and then the south, stopping once he spotted the target he had selected. "Annie, at bearing seven-six-three, what do you see?"

Annie took the offered binoculars, looked through them, and gasped. "It's a Titan!"

Reiner ripped the binoculars out of Annie's hands, gasping when he saw it. "Wall Rose... Wall Rose has fallen."

"No it hasn't."

Annie, Reiner and Bertold (who was so scared that he was on the edge of bolting), shifted their gaze to Connie, who had just spoken. "Wall Rose is intact. The Titan you're seeing scaled it."

Annie put the pieces together. "That's why you brought us here, isn't it? To capture the Titan."

"Nope." Connie took his binoculars back. "I brought you here to stop it. You can do whatever you want to it, but just stop it from attacking my village."

Reiner raised the relevant question. "Well that's great. Thing is, we're just three people. We're good but-"

"You're also Titan shifters who want the Beast Titan, and guess what; that's it right there." Connie dropped his binoculars and looked at the three Titan shifters. "You want it, I want it gone, so hop-"

Reiner grabbed a rock and bashed Connie's head in.

* * *

><p>The world coalesced into recognizable colors and shapes. Connie's father was looking at him. "Urgh... dad... I had the weirdest dream. I..."<p>

The face of Connie's dad solidified into a horrible parody of his face. "D...dad?"

The Titan that had been Connie's father reached down, only for the nape of it's neck to explode in a bloody mess. "Jeez this thing's a. That's the third time I've run into it... Holy crap, Connie!"

Connie wiped the hot blood off his face and realized that his savior was a certain auburn haired girl with an affinity for potatoes. "Sasha... what are you doing?"

Sasha smiled at Connie and put away her swords. "Saving your sorry ass... Jesus Connie, what are you doing out here? Figured you'd pay your family a visit?"

"I... I... You BITCH! YOU KILLED MY DAD YOU BITCH!" Connie lunged up, trying to grab at Sasha's throat, his shouts losing coherency. "AHHHHHHH"

Sasha sidestepped Connie, shock and horror painted into her face. "Connie, what are you talking about? I didn't kill your dad, I saved-" Sasha saw the Titan corpse, it's steaming flesh dissolving as Connie broke down into fresh tears. "Oh no..."

In the distance, Ragako village was a steam cloud, soldiers and Eren's Titan form hard at work destroying the Titan's that had appeared inside it's boundaries. Connie resisted screaming again. "They're dead again... they're all dead again..."

A light hand on Connie's shoulder was the only sensation that registered with him. "Come on Connie. I think it's time we got you up to speed."

* * *

><p>"Damn we're cursed."<p>

Eren knocked back another bottle of beer, his Titanic metabolism fighting off the depressing effects of the alcohol. "We're not cursed Mikasa. We've just had a bad run."

Mikasa pointed at Armin, Sasha and Connie, the two more experienced loopers explaining the loops to the short survivor of Ragako. "Hans died his first loop. Jean replaced Kaworu and needed Armin to kill him. Sasha got shot in her first loop. And now we have to find out that Connie's looping after the Beast Titan takes Ragako Village, and lose Annie, Bertolt and Reiner because of it? Eren, we're cursed."

Eren downed another bottle of beer. "...I don't even get it. Why would Connie think that the Titan Shifters were a better choice then us? Even without Titan powers, we're still the best fighters in this loop. So why them?"

Mikasa looked at Connie, sorely tempted to ask him right then and there. A sharp glare from Armin though helped her hold her tongue. "Eren, after all of this time, what do we really know about the Beast Titan? We may have been more trustworthy, but Annie and Bertolt knew more about it this loop."

Mikasa grabbed one of Eren's beers telekinetically. "And there's one other thing. Connie trusted Reiner. He saw Reiner as an older brother, and capturing the Beast Titan was a win-win situation."

Eren knocked back his sixth beer of the afternoon. "I need those beers, so don't drink too much. And how exactly would that work?"

"The Shifters would either get the Beast Titan, which would mean that no more Titans could be created ever, or they wouldn't, and in either case the noise would wake everyone up in the village, and they would bolt. And if the shifters did capture the Beast Titan, they would be able to leave us in peace, and if not, then we'd have three fewer spies, and maybe be down one Beast Titan." Mikasa sipped her beer. "A classic Xanatos gambit: no losing condition. One way or the other, Humanity walks away all the safer."

"Assuming the shifters can contain the Beast Titan. Assuming they even succeeded in capturing it. Assuming that they're not somewhere out there, waiting to attack Trost again." Eren glared at Connie. "Damn fool... ugh..." The Rogue Titan Shifter sat down. "This whole situation is fucked up."

Mikasa sipped her beer and nodded. "Think you're drunk enough not to attack Connie for treason now?"

Eren snorted. "One day, we'll find a loop were I'm an angry drunk, I just know it. Yeah, I'm pretty chilled out now. Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>4.9 SeaOfFallingStars<strong>

* * *

><p>Another loop, another case of enlistment and training. Eren didn't have to deal with the faulty 3DMG this go around, but all the loopers got into the habit of training with malfunctioning equipment. One loop, they even convinced the Drill Sergeant that it was a good exercise for everyone in case it happened in the field. But for now, all the loopers were huddled in a corner of the mess hall at midnight.<p>

"Alright Sasha, what did you bring us out here for? Hopefully not another food raid; we almost got expelled from the last time we assisted you in one of those."  
>"No Jean, nothing like that. I already did the raid, and found the best way to do it!"<p>

The Wall's resident black hole-er, foodie, opened her Pocket and pulled out a large number of baked potatoes, beef, and condiments. Eren slammed his head against the table, while Connie was drooling over the large meal before him. Armin rubbed his temple and sighed.

"Sasha, are you really going to use your pocket to steal food from the officers?"  
>"Sure! I learnt how during a loop where I was in adv... advance... somewhere called 'Wars World'. Had a sibling named Colin who was insecure. Couple of hunting trips helped that a lot."<p>

Sasha blinked at the strange looks everyone was giving her. She got the feeling it wasn't from the foraged food. Mikasa spoke up, her quiet voice carrying through the silence.

"How did you stay sane in a place called Wars World?"  
>"Um, it wasn't that bad? It was kinda silly even with the average survival ratio of units..."<p>

Her face contorted as Sasha realized she was in a world where people died in droves and it was a silly universe.

"Guys... I don't want to go back there..."

* * *

><p><strong>4.10 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>"...What the fuck was that last loop"<p>

In response to Jean's nauseous sounding question, Armin pulled out a Guide to Multiversal Variants (Third edition) and scanned a few pages.

"It's a variant loop to the Avengers universe, known as Nextwave, that may or may not also occur in baseline. It is known for its...oddness." Armin said the last bit in the same dry tone one might read a 'do not climb the wall' sign on Wall Maria.

"I know odd, and that wasn't odd. It was as far beyond odd as Mikasa is competence wise from a stormtrooper!"

* * *

><p><strong>4.11<strong>

* * *

><p>For Eren, it went without saying that Eastern Cultures fascinated him. The displays of brilliance, of difference from Western Cultures was engaging, enthralling even. The tenets of balance, perfection, self-control, melded together from years of social evolution was amazing to his eyes.<p>

Which was why when he, Armin and Mikasa Awoke in Republic City, his first instinct was to bolt and see the whole world. He loved the Avatar world, and had been planning to explore it if he ever looped in. Maybe he'd start by tracking down the Anchor Jinora, or watching a Pro-bending match, or getting some food, or abandon the city entirely and walk the Earth Kingdom... and maybe kill the Earth Queen in the interim.

But Armin's stomach had been growling when they woke up, so first order of business was decided to be food. Mikasa evidently agreed, since she was already leaving their apartment. Armin and Eren fell into step behind her, and began the hunt for lunch.

Teriyaki stands, ramen sellers, curry carts and stalls of seafood as far as the eye could see littered Republic City's streets, catering to the multicultural tastes of the fifth elemental nation. Restaurants dotted the street sides, doors open and savory smells wafting from their depths, saturating the crisp, cool air of autumn with the aromas of adventure. Mikasa nearly dragged Eren and Armin into a noodle shop when the scent hit them. In seconds flat, the trio were in, seated, and waiting for their orders.

As the chef prepared their lunch, Eren took in the whole of the situation from his Loop memories. "So we're a few months before Avatar Korra shows up. Which means we're ahead of Amon and the Equalist's ramping things up."

"Which also means that we're going to be dodging Equalists in the interim, since we're benders," Armin pointed out, accentuating his point with a slight water bending move.

The trio's dishes arrived after a moment, Eren dissolving the conversation with a heartfelt "Itadakimasu."

* * *

><p>"And their goes Mako, opening round two with a barrage of fire bolts aimed at the Red Tiger Boars Earthbender."<p>

Mikasa watched from the stands of the pro-bending arena as Mako and Bolin opened up a combo attack against the Tiger Boars, their movements and fluid teamwork unveiling their looper nature. A bit of popcorn found its' way into her mouth. "Gotta shay, dose two are good," she said around her full mouth.

Eren chuckled as Hasook got blasted back into the second zone by a stray earth disc. "Yeah, they're probably the best Earth and Firebenders around, outside of Toph and Zuko." A thoughtful look crossed Eren's face. "I wonder if they'll awake this loop."

Armin shrugged, more focused on silently critiquing Bolin and Mako's barebones strategy then talking.

"Actually, they're awake this loop. It's just the five of us," Asami clarified. "And Bolin's still better at Lavabending then Toph, but she's catching up."

The Titan Anchor's nearly jumped out of their skin when they noticed Asami. The heiress rolled her eyes in acknowledgement of the humor of it. "Well, since no one's given you three the welcome wagon, I figured I might as well."

Mikasa growled at her inattentiveness and ate another handful of popcorn. Eren on the other hand broke out a large smile. "Asami Sato. It's an honor to meet you."

Asami smiled self-consciously. "I wouldn't exactly call it an honor, but okay. It's nice to meet you... hey." A look of recognition hit Asami. "Aren't you those three... what were you called again, Indecisive Anchors?"

Armin broke from his strategy analysis to enter lecture mode. "Actually, we're called Nebulous Anchors. Our universe was damaged in such a manner that the Admins couldn't determine the most optimal Anchor candidate, since they couldn't determine who amongst us would survive until the Loop's full expansion. As such we were designated-"

"Armin, you're lecturing again." Eren broke his friend out of the mode. Armin grimaced.

"Okay, long story short, we all need to loop as a single Anchor, since any one of us may die in the Baseline. In fact, one of our loopers _did_ die in the baseline. He was disemboweled by a Titan, incidentally-"

"Armin." Mikasa broke him out of lecture mode again.

The blond boy winced internally. "Well... yeah. That's it."

Asami looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry for your difficulties. It must be very hard for you to live like that."

Mikasa shrugged. "I have faith in my strength. I'll protect Eren and Armin to my death."

Asami smiled at her conviction, a smile mirrored by Eren and Armin. "That's very sweet of you Mikasa. Oh, and one more thing you three."

"Eh?" Eren asked.

Asami pointed helpfully at Armin's hair. "You may want to dye that something dark. You're the only blond on the planet."

A dark blush crossed Armin's face. Mikasa reached around Eren and patted him on the shoulder. "I like it blond. Don't change it."

Armin nodded at Mikasa. "Okay then."

Asami cocked an eyebrow minutely, but made no comment.

"And there goes Bolin, slamming another barrage of earth bending blows into the Tiger Boars Water bender. This season's been kind to the bending brothers, and it looks like we're in for another win for the Fire Ferrets. If the Tiger Boars can't take them down, I don't know what will."

* * *

><p>Mako spun left, ducked, spun right and countered left. Eren blocked high, back stepped, and leaned right. The fire bender lunged forward, delivering an arm bar to Eren's midriff and sent Eren through a textbook flip, throwing the boy ass over skull and landing him squarely on his back. The Titan shifter glared at Mako. "I could have beaten you."<p>

Mako smirked and helped Eren back to his feet. "But you didn't, and I won. Again?"

"Again."

Across the room, Bolin and Mikasa were grappling. Mikasa's raw combat talent was fighting against Bolin's centuries of experience... and getting its' ass handed to it. "Come on Mikasa, you're a badass. I know you can do-" Bolin picked Mikasa up and threw her. "Better than this."

Mikasa got back up and spat a lock of her hair out of her mouth. "Again."

Bolin threw himself at her, got the upper hand again and tossed Mikasa. "You need to widen your stance. Use your legs to keep me from getting inside your guard. Block me."

"Again."

In the back, Armin and Asami were sharing a cake and pouring over a spare set of 3DMG, waiting for Korra to show up. "See, this control rod is what regulates the velocity of the user and tethers the speed triggers to the motor."

"But such a small motor can't possibly supply the torque to move the rider vertically at these speeds. The metal would warp under the weight."

"Which is why it's made out of an aluminum alloy. Its' weight and durability make it the only substitute for steel."

"But even with Aluminum's strength, the pistol rods are too short. It's a good speed increaser, but it'll lower the torque to insurmountable levels. You can't climb walls with this."

"That aside, we do."

"Well maybe you just think you climb walls with it?" said a newcomer.

The locals and visitors broke from their conversation as Korra and Jinora entered the room, the diminutive Anchor postulating the solution. "Maybe you just think it works, and so it does. Suspension of disbelief is a powerful thing."

"You've replaced Rincewind haven't you?" Armin guessed. When Jinora nodded he continued. "Just so you know, we're not actually from a world like that. Ours' is more... lethal."

Korra showily bent some water out of a cistern recessed into the ground, holding it over herself in a large arch. "How lethal? Vast swathes of land destroyed? Close, important people dying towards the end?"

"Towards the end, around the middle, at the beginning... my grandfather, Eren's parents, our friends, Eren himself-"

"I got better."

"-Close friends, enemies, people we don't know, entire villages, good people, bad people... and there's a fair chance that one of us will die as well," Armin concluded tonelessly. "So... rather lethal."

Korra winced and lowered her water back into the cistern. "Ouch... that blows."

Armin shrugged, but didn't look Korra in the eye. "It could be worse. We're still alive."

Mako looked at Eren, then Mikasa, and finally Armin. "Well, you'll have a good run, at least for a while. And Death isn't permanent, not here in the loops."

Eren clenched his hand, crushing the heat that had sprung up inside it. "Yeah, we know Mako."

A few moments of silence held as the assembled loopers digested the fact that, one day, three amongst them could very well be dead. Korra pulled some water out of the cistern and tossed it at Armin, who caught it effortlessly and returned it. "Looks like you're pretty skilled with Tai Chi Zhang already, so maybe we can skip to some more advanced techniques."

Armin smiled, forgetting his morbid thoughts as the moment took over. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Eren and Mikasa smiled, and together, they returned to their training, content in the knowledge that, at least for this loop, they were safe from death.

* * *

><p>Of course, once they had returned to their world, Mikasa discovered the ludicrously adaptive earth bending techniques that Bolin had passed onto her had a very nice little application: sealing the hole in Wall Maria. But really, where was the fun in that?<p>

Well...

Hannes watched from a nearby rooftop as the trio danced amongst the Titans, slaying anything that made it beyond a sixty meter radius. On one side of him, the Garrison's Shiganshina commander was staring slack jawed at the absolute carnage the three twelve year olds wrought. On the other, Grisha Jaeger was more surprised that his son and adoptive daughter were killing Titans... and making it look easy. He gulped quietly. _'Maybe I shouldn't have Eren eat me.'_

* * *

><p><strong>4.12<strong>

* * *

><p>Deep within the wilds of Argentina, there is seated a strange, silent realm. Titans have not ventured within it for nearly a century. Man has yet to reclaim the pastoral lands. It's a world that man has not befouled in generations, and has been left to the reclamation of nature. Curiously, its' grand valleys still held a single mark of man's influence: ancient strips of asphalt miraculously preserved between the high mountains.<p>

Regardless, the world was a pastoral one, a piece of empty wilderness sealed from the rest of the world. Perfect, brilliant, beautiful, and silent...

Except the bits that had a car with a V8 in them. Those bits were rather loud.

"The speed. The ferocity. The raw power beneath the hood. This is what motoring, what all cars, are supposed to be. Fearless, powerful, eventful. It's amazing."

The V8, a 1967 Mustang Fastback, dug into the corner and turned on a dime. "Damn, its' even fun. I tell you, this car-"

Behind the muscle car, a relatively normal Nissan sedan trailed. Its' occupants were trying to give the lead driver as much space as possible, lest she turn them into her copilots, or worse: her versions of James May and Jeremy Clarkson.

Eren watched, rather impassively, as Mikasa did her best Richard Hammond impression. "She's banned from all BBC productions."

Armin, who was wondering if now was a good time to mention that The Doctor was looping, silently nodded. Mikasa, as a fan girl, was scary.

Mikasa as a fangirl within relative proximity to the actual of her fan girl tendencies was... terrifying.

That, and Armin wanted the Doctor for himself.

* * *

><p><strong>4.13 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>In a blinding flash of golden lightning both the Armored and Colossal Titans fled from battle.<p>

Rather annoyed at them getting away (again), even if he did spare Shiganshina this time, Eren glared off into the horizon, his Loki-Buster Gun not even halfway depleted of energy.

"Come back here, you cowards! Come back here and die!"

And they did come back...just not quite the same...

A Colossal Armored Titan rose up before Eren. Giant, Armored, and billowing out more steam than an R-Rated movie studio.

"Fusion Titan..." Eren said in shock.

That was a new one for the loops.

* * *

><p><strong>4.14<strong>

* * *

><p>(Excerpt of communication between an Admin and the Anchors of their assigned loop)<p>

Dear Ganesha Vinayaka, Hindu deity of the word, education during reading, beginnings, remover of obstacles, patron of the arts, and owner of an enormous trunk.

Hi. It's us, Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. We're the Anchors for the Attack on Titan loops, but you already know that. Now assuming that you can actually read this, since Armin is telling us that since you're a god of letters and writing you can, we would like to inform you of several issues that we've been dealing with in our recent loops.

First off are personal grievances: Eren would again petition you to move the beginning of the loop to an earlier time to enable more efficient protection of both Carla Jaeger and Wall Maria. He views your repeated refusal as-

(Several lines are crossed out here, though the words "Absolute Bastard" are legible)

-Unprofessional and rude at the highest order.

Secondly is the reiteration of Armin Arlert's desire to replace "Black Leg" Sanji, a resident of the so called "One Piece" loops. His remarks indicate that Sanji's skill set, which includes strategy, stealth and direct combat, along with culinary preparation would be a superior fit, above Usopp's own ranged combat and inferior strategic skills.

Finally, Mikasa Ackerman would like to pass joyful greetings and sends her regards.

Now, down to business:

Due to recent events taking place within our Loop, we have denoted that further loopers are, by default, unprepared for the situations that will arise, and will most certainly encounter lethal or traumatic occurrences that are, by poor luck, commonplace within our loop. With this in mind, we may draw the corollary that loopers who have not experienced fused loops (and thus gained some measure of ability beyond baseline powers) are at a significant and rather dangerous disadvantage.

To remedy this, it has been decided that a new system be implemented for new loopers: prior activation as a looper, a preplanned fused loop is selected to host them, for their second aware loop. In this manner, a new looper is able to gain some knowledge of our baseline (assuming that the selected world is privy to hosting our manga), along with a more extensive power set. We have observed the early loops of our fellow loopers Hans, Jean, Sasha and Connie, and have concluded that Sasha and Jean, who's first loops were fused loops though some miraculous coincidence, have a significantly improved rate of survival when compared to Connie and a pre-Theldesia Hans.

Our request is, in admittance, a fairly serious one. We are aware of who long certain loops can last, which may have a severe negative effect on our loopers. However, the mortality rate of our loop is a serious consideration, thus making the request, we hope, be more reasonable. As such and in conclusion, we request that from now on all new loopers experience a single loop outside our world as preparation for our own.

Yours sincerely, Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman, and Eren Yeager.

(Reply from Ganesha.)

1: Eren, you're well aware of the fact that the area of the timeline immediately prior to Bertolt's arrival is saturated with pseudo-temporal waves because of the crash. Setting your baseline start any earlier runs the risk of crashing your loop on a regular basis.

2: Armin, you had your chance to learn Sanji's moves. In fact, according to our records you're a decent chef.

3: This is a fairly difficult proposition, as you admit. Not undoable, in any measure, but certainly abnormal. I'll consider it, but be aware that it may be a while before I arrive at a concrete answer.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Attack On Titan Loops**

**Chapter 5**

**5.1**

* * *

><p>Connie had a grin on his face. It could only be classified as a "shit-eating" grin. "Chainsaws."<p>

Eren, who had been left alone with the newest member of their looper entourage, resisted slapping his face. He was used to taking Connie through Basic and mentoring him to improve is survivability, but there were times when he really got on Eren's nerves. "Connie..."

Connie held up this loop's variant of Pairing Blades. "Chainsaw. Pairing. Blades. How are you not freaking out over this?"

Eren pulled a chain-pairing blade out of his pocket. "This isn't the first time we've been through a variant of what the blades were."

Connie blinked in surprise, staring at the different Chain-pairing blade. "So... if it's not a regular pairing blade, it's a chainsaw?"

Eren began pulling out different weapons. "Pairing scythes, pairing axes, pairing halberds, pairing baguettes, pairing aircraft wings, you name it, we've probably fought with it."

Connie stared at the vast variety of weapons. "...Can I have some of that?"

Eren grabbed up his stuff and dropped it back into his pocket. "Get your own."

"Come on, it'll help."

"No way, this is my stuff."

"Eren!"

"Get off me Connie!"

Ymir, at that moment, rounded the corner and saw Eren and Connie struggling. For a moment, all three stared at each other. Ymir raised her hands placating and started to back away. "I won't judge. Later!"

Eren glared at Connie, still tangled in his limbs and trying to grab his stuff. "Good going Connie, now she thinks were dating."

* * *

><p><strong>5.2 Crossoverpairinglover<strong>

* * *

><p>"..." Mikasa and Eren had no words for Armin this loop, considering that once again he was the son of Ymir and KristaHistoria.

But this time, he had Ymir's skin tone as well.

"Are you sure neither of them is merely fond of cross-dressing?" Eren felt like checking the only logical explanation as Armin shook his head.

"Believe me, I can assure you neither of them are crossdressers" After finally having that loop as Sanji, Armin knew what cross-dressing men looked like.

"Well, then how else can you look like both of them then!?"

Mikasa, who looked ponderous over this entire thing, removed a pair of body analysis glasses (Bat-gear number 43524) from her subspace pocket and looked over Eren a few times. "Eren...I'd avoid titan shifting this loop" she told him in the most serious of voices.

"Why?!" Eren asked in both annoyance, and dread.

"Because Titan shifting appears to have a genetic side effect of specifically concentrated releases of either estrogen or testosterone in specific areas of the user's body" she gave the vaguest answer she could get.

Eren didn't catch what she meant, Armin however...

The banging of his head against a wall suggested he did in fact know exactly what she meant.

* * *

><p><strong>5.3 SeaOfFallingStars<strong>

* * *

><p>When I woke up in a loop, I didn't expect it to be in an alley with pipes on the walls, looking like a hellhole barely holding itself together. Let alone with some thugs pointing advanced (to me) rifles in my face and the face of… Connie? Last I remember Eren was fighting Reiner and Bertolt in a mechanical version of his titan form that glowed a tasty shade of green. Mmm… greens. Focus, girl! Survival first, gorging yourself second! Thankfully, we weren't bound, so it'd be easy to punch one of them.<p>

"Rargh! Glrabb! Rulgbib!"

…And the shouting made no sense. It sounds more like he's about to cough up something while growling. Oh. Oh, that's _gross_; who coughs up TAR!? While he's choking, I switch from cowering to throwing a punch at his buddy. The two guarding Connie turn to face me and fire. Not again! I don't want to die from a stomach shot again! Once was bad enough. Twice… I shunted those thoughts to the side and threw something at one of the other thugs. Cougher was still losing his tar-coated guts so it was simple to bring out a blade and…

…and my subspace pocket isn't working? WHAT!?

"Sasha look out!"

Connie threw his arm forward in a sweeping motion and the pipes we were laying against burst, scalding the four thugs and blinding them. The one I threw something at dropped a… potato? This is going to be a strange loop. Sure they were stunned, but that didn't mean anything. They needed to go down hard.

"Connie, we'll learn our powers later. Use the pipe to spin-kick the one closest to the wall. I'll rush the other side and see if I can snap their neck. After that, we'll just beat them up until they're down. Those martial arts lessons should pay off now!"

Thanks to decades of experience, possibly over a century, as a huntress, I knew that their confusion wouldn't last long. A noise akin to a hard loaf of bread being broken open resonated in my ears as I ran behind the cowering thugs and wrapped one arm around the neck and used the other to twist the head at a sharp angle. Contrary to what folks thought, those of us who lived with the Titans weren't weak; they were that strong.

"Get down!"

The unknown voice caused me to stall in the fighting, only for the head of one thug to explode and the other to run away, only to get gunned down. No. no no no I don't want to be shot I don't want to be shot not again not again not again-

"Sasha! Calm down!"

Connie's voice seemed so far away. Hold it together girl… hold it together…

"Nam… -Eke. I… -Chor for th… she ok…"

The world went dark, as Connie tried to negotiate with the newcomer for dwellings. I don't want to die from a stomach wound again…

Days under Quarantine: 12

* * *

><p><strong>5.4<strong>

* * *

><p>Hange didn't really see notice anything different the next morning, not at first. Levi was sitting in his usual place in the mess hall, drinking some expensive black tea in his typical manner. Quietly acknowledging humanity's greatest soldier, Hange grabbed a loaf of bread and plopped down next to him. "Yo."<p>

Levi sipped his tea, nodding lightly at Hange in greeting. The duo sat in silence, Hange noming on the bread, Levi sipping his tea.

The bread and tea soon vanished from their plates, and Hange, uncomfortable and jittery with the silence, broke it with an interesting conversation piece. "You know Levi, I had the strangest dream last night." Hange reached over and snagged a crumb of cheese off of Levi's plate. "I dreamed about Titans."

Levi leveled a blank, vaguely aggravated look at Hange. This wasn't the first time the mad scientist had dreamed about Titans... or stolen his cheese. "This wasn't a perverted dream, was it?"

Hange chuckled. "Nah, it was different." A pensive look overtook Levi's friend. "I dreamed about the future. About the Titans breaching Shiganshina, a war between them and us. About people that could become Titans, and fight them. About a huge conspiracy..."

Levi tapped against his teacup, almost as if doing so would cause it to magically be refilled. "Is that so?"

Hange's lips broke into a wry grin. "Well, it was a dream. Like it would actually be real." The grin became down right cheeky then. "And just so you know, in the dream, you were married to Petra, and I was some sort of half-boy, half-girl hybrid."

Levi nearly choked on thin air when Hange said he was married to Petra. "Sh...shut up Hange." Rallying in his annoyance, Levi then burst out; "and if you were half-and-half, how'd you get off?"

For a second, neither spoke. Then Hange broke out laughing and Levi slapped his forehead. "Ha...hehehe, did, heh, did you really just... Ahaha, say that?"

Levi reached over and slapped Hange. "Shut up. You made me say that."

At that moment, a messenger burst into the room. "Corporal Ackerman, Corporal Hange, Wall Maria has fallen!"

The laughter died like an anvil had fallen on it.

The ride to Wall Maria was quick and brutal. Most soldiers in the Garrison and Survey corps had foregone saddling their horses in an urge for speed, while many only grabbed their bare possessions. A few hadn't even changed from their bed clothes, and wore their ODMG over them.

Hange and Levi led the charge, trying to guide the group down from the western territories and into the southern regions. All the while, they talked fast.

"Hange, are you sure this dream of yours was just a dream."

Hange wasn't exactly comfortable with the subject though. "I don't know. It was so vivid... so long. It felt as real as everything we're doing now does."

Levi set his jaw in annoyance. "Prophetic dreams... damn and I thought things couldn't get any stranger. Well, what are you sure about?"

Hange shrugged. "The Titan-Shifters and the Wallist conspiracy. If the reports of the Colossal and Armored Titans come back, then we can assume that the Titan Shifters do exist. As for the Wallists... all we'll need is to drill into Wall Rose to confirm that there are still Titans in there."

The tense discussion was broke by a shout. "Hostiles, one o'clock!"

In the extreme distance, more than five miles away, Hange and Levi could see them: masses of hulking flesh, beasts in human form. Titans were indeed with the territory of Wall Maria. Levi urged his horse faster. "Everyone, remain vigilant. If the Titans have reached this deep into Wall Maria-"

The army shot past a narrow gulch, a party of refugees screaming as a Titan moved to devour them. "A TITAN!" a soldier shouted redundantly.

Hange didn't think, just acted. Sinking ODMG hooks into a tree, the scientist leapt above the group and began to swing in a wide arc, compressed gas steaming behind. With a roar, Hange squeezed the ODM's triggers, accelerating as centripetal force took over, before detaching and flying through the air. A second firing lodged the hooks into a tree directly across from the Titan, and with a mighty swing, Hange bisected the Titan's nape.

This all took place in barely five seconds.

Hange rolled off the Titan's steaming corpse and smirked at the assembled soldiers, whom to their credit were mostly focused on getting to the major battlefront and were ignoring the dead Titan. "That's how it's done!"

Levi quirked an eyebrow when Hange caught up with him. "Alright then Hange, I believe you."

"Huh?"

Levi pointed back at the fallen Titan. "I've never see you moving like that. Obviously, you've either been training in secret, or..." Levi let the implications hang.

Hange winced as the penny dropped. "Or I inherited the reflexes from... well I guess we can't really call it a dream anymore."

Levi urged his horse to go faster. "We must not let the Titans move further."

The army steamrolled towards a village, a collection of lonely houses and shops arrayed around a clock tower. The village also happened to be on the main road heading north, which netted it the unhappy honor of being the focal point of the Titan invasion. Nearly a dozen Titans were waddling towards the outskirts, with a lone fifteen meter class Titan... banging its head into the clock tower. It was obviously an abnormal.

The soldiers began to fall back, clearing a path for what was, by silent agreement, their ace in the hole team. Hange and Levi shared a glance and readied themselves to engage the fifteen meter class. "Everyone, today this town becomes our spearhead against the Titans. Be ready to hold it to. The. Death!" Hange and Levi fired ODM hooks and hurtled forward.

The fifteen meter class turned towards the approaching humans, a quizzical look on its face. Levi went left, Hange went right, both circling to get their target to open its blind spot. The Titan turned towards Levi.

Hange circled behind the Titan and managed to just shoot a hook into the Fifteen meter class' nape, squeezing the trigger and going in for the kill. And then Hange's world became _pain_.

The mad scientist faltered, arcs into the ground and skidding through the dirt, a dust trail marking Hange's fall. The world began to swirl, colors fading in and out. Hange was acutely aware of a pounding headache. "I want... a cigar... what..."

A shadow fell over Hange's vision, resolving somewhat to become a pale and raven haired creature. "Le...vi..."

"I'm here Hange."

"Did... you get th..."

"The Titan is dead Hange."

The world was fading. Levi became more indistinct every second. Hange realized that there was something that needed to be said. "The shifter... Eren... Yeager."

"I will find them Hange."

"Of Shi...Shi..."

"Shiganshina."

"Yeah..."

Hange closed her eyes. "Keep... keep Petra..."

The world faded to black.

* * *

><p>Hanji woke up.<p>

He was in his room, having just climbed in for a quick catnap. If memory served, he hadn't woken up until the morning after... when the news of Shiganshina and Wall Maria's fall had reached the western territories.

Hanji's hands dived to his legs, feeling the warm and intact flesh that was still connected to him. Somehow... a Titan had eaten him. But here he was and...

Wait? HE!?

Hanji ripped off his trousers and stared at disbelief at what he saw. "What the fuck...?"

At that moment, the door to the bunk room opened and Oluo walked in, took one look at Hanji, turned around, and left. "This isn't what it looks like!" Hanji shouted after him.

Hanji hopped off of his bed and struggled, for a moment, to pull his trousers back on, and rocketed out of the room. He grabbed Oluo as he ran, dragging the significantly older man behind... Her? Him? Hir?

Whatever.

The mess hall was full. A mixture of Survey Corpsmen and women, alongside Garrison soldiers, were eating their lavish dinners of beef stew. For a second, Hanji nearly fainted in silent gluttony, before recomposing... themself? "Everyone, is Wall Maria-"

Hanji was interrupted when a small, raven-haired girl appeared out of thin air with the crack of a gun and grabbed... err, Hanji. Before even a single person could comment, Hanji felt a sudden pressure, as if he was being squeezed down a Titan's gullet. With the _crack_ of reality snapping back a second later, Hanji staggered away from the girl, and nearly fell off the edge of the wall they had appeared on. Wall Maria, if Hanji wasn't mistaken. "What..."

"Ahem."

Hanji spun on his (HIS!) heel and came face to face with his exceptionally tiny and adorable kidnapper. "Hello Hange," the kid-kidnapper said.

Hanji's brain short circuited. "Uh..."

The girl smiled a little bit, but Hanji could see that she didn't seem to have any happiness behind it. "Before we begin, may I ask if you recognize me?"

Hanji blinked and stared at the little girl who had kidnapped him and teleported them both to the top of Wall Maria. She didn't look familiar, but at the same time, there was something just... dancing on the edge of her memories. Then it hit him. "Mikasa...?"

Mikasa Ackerman smiled slightly and nodded. "How exactly do you know me, Hange?"

Hanji squeezed his eyes shut hard, before opening them again. The slightly smiling girl remained there, intact and certainly not a hallucination. Hanji blinked hard again to double check, then straightened up. "You're Mikasa Ackerman, top graduate of the 107th military regiment and widely considered the most powerful woman amongst humanity. But you're not twelve."

Mikasa nodded, her smile growing a little more real. And suddenly there were more loud cracks and noises, and then Hanji and Mikasa weren't alone on the Wall. "What... what, what the..."

Eren Yeager, twelve years old, walked forward. "Welcome to the loops Hange. Oh, and Armin." Eren's eyes bulged, the iris turning as white as the sclera. "He's a guy this loop. Pay up."

Armin pulled out a few coins and held them out to Eren, but Hanji took them instead. "Alright, that's it, stop. What the hell is going on, why did my gender switch, and why are you all twelve."

"I'm eleven," Armin quipped.

* * *

><p>Hanji sipped his wine. "So... time's repeating between the five years and two months from this evening, to the night we try and rescue Eren. And in almost every iteration, by gender flips between male and female."<p>

"Or you're hermaphrodite," Armin pointed out.

Hanji sipped his wine again. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I was one in my first loop." A little smile crossed Hanji's face. "Well, at least it could be worse. I am non-binary after all."

Hans, otherwise known as "the guy who had gotten eaten," spoke around the steak in his mouth. "That always gets me. Male or female, you just don't care. Why is that?"

"Do I need a reason?" Hanji countered. Hans nodded at "the person whose gender always changed", and cut himself another slice of steak.

Hanji, Mikasa, Armin, Eren and Hans had set up a "welcome party" for Hanji atop Wall Maria. Many statements were made about the fact that Shiganshina was sealed and safe from the Titans, even if it had been badly damaged in the interim. Apparently, The Anchors had been searching for Hanji for several loops, ever since Levi had tracked them down and explained that a certain dead comrade of his had had a prophetic dream.

Hanji sipped his wine, setting it down when Eren addressed him again. "Hanji, seeing as your gender changes from loop to loop, how would you prefer we address you?"

Hanji raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"What pronouns would you prefer?"

"...Who cares?" Hanji set her wine down to the assembled people's confusion. "I don't, so call me whatever you want."

Mikasa and Armin shared a look, Armin looking vaguely amused, Mikasa not looking anything at all. "Okay. Well, since you're like that, I guess we might as well have fun with this." Armin raised a glass. "I call for a vote. All in favor of madam Hanji here not caring, say aye."

"Aye!"

* * *

><p><strong>5.5<strong>

* * *

><p>"Mom!"<p>

Carla Yeager struggled against the onrush of cold darkness, forcing her eyes open. As her fading awareness was reinforced, a sense of horror flooded her. She could barely hear the screaming in the distance over the deafening sounds of her children's shoes.

"MOM!"

It all hurt. Carla had never tried to understand everything Grisha had said about broken bones, but she could still feel her legs. Or could she? Was she so delusional that she was imagining things?

"MOM!"

Carla let out a long sigh, closing her visible hand. Sparks of agony flickered across her back and legs, her arm and torso hazes of pain. She could feel her life slipping between her fingers.

"Mom, don't move, we've got you."

Carla forced herself to look up at Eren and Mikasa, latching on to the beam that lay across her shoulders. "What... What are you doing!? You have to run now!"

Eren heaved against the beam. "We're getting you out of there mom. Just give me a...Second!"

Carla's terrified retort was severed in a flash of pain as her children heaved the beam off of her. A split second later the two were by her side, looking her over.

Though Carla couldn't see it, Eren had activated a set of byakugan, a holdover from an early fused loop with Naruto Uzumaki and Harry Potter. "You have internal bleeding, ruptured organs... your legs were crushed..." A look of horror developed. "And your spine is snapped at the sixth thoracic vertebrae."

Carla could hear the tone of her son, hear the fear. A light, melancholy grin spread across her face. "My little doctor. You're replace your father one day. Eren, run. Take Mikasa and run!"

Carla could hear the rumbling stomps of a distant Titan, but she daren't look to see it. "Mikasa get Eren to safety! You need to leave now!"

"They're not going anywhere without you Carla." To Carla's relief, Hannes swooped in at the moment. "We need to get you three out of here. If those Titan's catch you in this condition, you won't be living to tell about it."

Eren stood up, a frankly unnatural will burning in his eyes. "If we can get my mom out into the countryside, I can treat her injuries. I have the supplies needed for an exploratory laparotomy. I can brace her bones as well, but we need to make sure that her spleen and kidneys don't take further damage. We'll need to transport her gently to unsure that she remains with us. Any further trauma, even minor trauma caused by transportation will only worsen her condition." To that end, while Eren had been talking he had pulled medical stretcher from somewhere and was helping Mikasa move Carla onto it. "Hannes, me and Mikasa can carry my mom. You watch for Titans."

"But-." Hannes was shut up as Eren and Mikasa picked up their mother and began to race for the gates. The garrison soldier nodded absently to himself, turning towards the steaming corpse of what was once an approaching Titan. Above him, a blond twelve year old watched from above as Eren and Mikasa recovered their patient.

As the three ran for the gates, Carla quietly wondered what was happening. 'Am I dying...?'

She could see the sky.

_'I am dying.'  
><em>  
>But she was with her family. Her children.<p>

_'I'm... not alone.'_

"Don't worry mom, we have a safe house just ahead of us. We'll be there in minutes."

_'I'm here...'  
><em>  
>Carla Yeager closed her eyes.<p>

_'Thank you...'  
><em>  
>"Mom?"<p>

_'Mikasa... Eren... thank you.'  
><em>  
>"MOM!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Mom!"<p>

Karula Jaeger struggled against the onrush of cold darkness, forcing her eyes open. As her fading awareness was reinforced, a sense of horror flooded her. She could barely hear the screaming in the distance over the deafening sounds of her children's shoes.

"MOM!"

Karula ground her teeth as a torrent of pain reasserted itself, the beam on top of her shaking with the thunderous steps of the distant Titans. Her legs didn't feel attached to her, not anymore. She couldn't feel her legs.

"Mom!"

Karula's heart began to flutter, her crushed body shaking as the import of what was happening hit her. The Titans had breached Shiganshina. Her children were right in the pathway. She was dying.

"Mom, don't move. Stay as still as possible."

Karula risked a paltry glance upward, seeing that Mikasa and Eren had arrived at her side. Despite her pain and fear, Karula mustered enough lucidity to shout. "Eren, Mikasa, RUN! You need to get out of here, the Titans are coming!"

Eren shook his head as he wrapped his arms around the beam across his mother's back. "No... Hans is taking care of it. Now don't move any more mom." And then Eren and Mikasa heaved.

Karula covered her mouth with her one free hand, trying to muffle the scream of pain that moving the beam elicited. Their mother free, Eren and Mikasa carefully extracted her from the rubble and laid her gently on the earth. "Alright mom, we should be able to carry you to the safe house this time. Just don't move."

Karula felt her consciousness flickering out. 'This time...' Karula tried to lift her left hand to caress Eren's face, or even feel the warm skin of her son just once more. When her arm didn't move of its own accord, Karula turned her head to see it and noticed that her left arm was little more than a heap of bloody meat held together by the rags of her sleeve. "I can't... feel my arm."

Eren looked her up and down with his byakugan, his face contorting in feel. "Multiple points of internal bleeding, lacerations, broken ribs and vertebrae, and a punctured lung." He gulped audible. "Stay still mom. We'll protect you."

Karula felt tears forming in her eyes. "Don't... don't leave-"

A splinter of marrow, knocked loose from her crushed left arm, freed itself and passed through Karula's heart. Karula seized, and died.

* * *

><p>"Mom!"<p>

Karla Jaeger struggled against the onrush of cold darkness, forcing her eyes open. She could barely hear the screaming in the distance over the fading sounds of her children's shoes.

"MOM!"

The whole world hurt...

"MOM!"

Karla felt her consciousness receding...

"Don't move mom. Me and Eren are here."

"Mikasa..."

It was too much. With a shudder of her frame, Karla Jaeger passed on from her world, a single word dancing on her ears.

"MOM!"

* * *

><p>Far from human eyes or Titan hands, atop Wall Maria, there is a cottage. A small, insignificant cottage that was once a guard post, but following the loss of the territory enclosed by Wall Maria, it had been abandoned for a time. Now it was once again filled with activity.<p>

"Scalpel's one through fifty... all types and duplicates accounted for. Gauze and skin grafts... items one through thirty present. Items thirty one through sixty present. Items sixty four, seventy eight and eighty eight not accounted for. Come on Armin, you're supposed to have those ones."

Armin hauled another box of artificial organs out of his subspace pocket. "Well sorry Eren. I'm running myself ragged here."

Eren nodded, counting the organs as present. "Thanks Armin. IV drip sets one through ten are present." Eren scribbled this information, along with all the rest of the materials he had in his possession, onto a large white clipboard. "You know Armin, I have a good feeling about this one. This is next loop will be the loop that my mom will see to the end."

Armin grabbed one of the operating tables (one of five) and pulled it into his subspace pocket. "Well, if there's anyone who can do it, it'll be you Eren."

In a different part of the cottage, Mikasa was drilling a dozen shadow clones in setting up the operating room, focusing on speed and efficiency in positioning boxes of skin grafts, bags if spare blood, and trays upon trays of scalpels. By now Mikasa was drilling in doing it blindfolded, and just approaching the one minute mark.

Eren finished his checklist. "This time, mom's gonna make it."

* * *

><p>On a lonely hill inside Wall Maria, a wooden grace marker was erected. Memories were recalled. Some drink was shared. And Eren and Mikasa's mother was remembered fondly.<p>

Hannes, the only normal looper that was awake, had elected to sit away from the trio of his anchors, letting them silently wallow. Eren drank, Mikasa dozed, and Armin stared out at the distant lake and mountains that came together to create the beautiful vista that Karula's grave overlooked. Finally, as the sun fell into the horizon, Armin spoke up. "It's not your fault you know."

Eren didn't comment immediately, but instead sighed before speaking. "I know. I tried my best. It's just... three hundred times. Are... Aren't we meant to save her?"

Mikasa sat up and leaned into Eren. "You've done your best Eren. Learned from some of the greatest doctors in all the loops. Tony Chopper, Greg House, Bruce Banner. It's not you, it's the loop."

Eren looked outward, looking at the far mountains with a sorrowful gaze. This little hill had been the spot of a picnic long ago, one that their mom had brought them to. It was almost always Karula's burial ground. "If it's the loop..."

Eren didn't look at his siblings. "I guess the only thing we can do is try and take away the pain." The doctor of the Anchor's ground his teeth and fought back tears. "I give up."

* * *

><p><strong>5.6 RockGolem<strong>

* * *

><p>"So in this loop Attack on Titan is a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online game?"<p>

"Yep."

Sasha was fiddling with thin air. "Hey why can't I open my pocket? I want to grab my digitizer and use my Over Board."

The dark haired Looper who had introduced himself as Kirito (while sounding a lot like Eren) looked at her with a carefully blank face. "In my universe Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online games, or VRMMO's for short, are played full dive. That means the device that that connects us to the virtual world intercepts the signals from your brain to the body, so your body stays still while your brain controls what you do here."

"What has that got to do with our subspace pockets" Sasha nearly shouted as she flung her hand out trying pull out her digitzer.

Armin who and been quietly thinking had a realization. "We can't access them because we're in a virtual world and our real bodies are in the real world. These bodies are just avatars and don't have subspace pockets."

Kirito nodded "In these games you start off as human but as you level up you become super human."

"Well that blows" Sasha pouted

Armin looked at her "Half an hour ago when the giant floating game master told us he made it so our brains get scrambled if we die in game or someone on the outside tries to get us out, you were pumped saying how awesome it was going to be."

"Well that was when I thought I had all my awesome stuff to use." Sasha had taken her sword out at was using it to draw doodles in the sand, to Armin it looked like she was drawing some of her favorite toy she carried in her subspace pocket.

"Urr fine." Kirito looked a little annoyed "Asuna is getting Yui online and then we can get admin access and create whatever you want, just stop looking sad ... please."

"Oh Kirito, always having to play the hero." The pretty brunette that had been introduced as Asuna before she left earlier had just snuck up on Kirito and given him a kiss on the cheek. "I know you wanted to beat this game fairly but this way Yui can have fun with us."

The black haired little girl who looked a lot like Asuna to Armin, smiled has she ran up and gave Kirito a hug "Come on daddy we can build something really cool together."

Sasha and Armin looked at each other but decided the ten year old girl calling a teenager daddy was nowhere near close to weird for them and went with it.

"Okay Yui I'll help you build things for the others but I'm going to play the game fairly."

* * *

><p><em>One Week Later<em>

* * *

><p>Kirito used his maneuvering gear like an expert as he brought himself up the to the titans weak spot. Finally he was going to kill one of these bastards, when suddenly the titan roared as Sasha on her flying hover board thing fired an arrow into its eye. The titan leaned back causing Kirito to miss completely, he landed heavily but managed to spring to his feet just in time to see Asuna and Yui riding their longboard sized flying rapier as it sliced the back of the titans knees forcing it to the ground. Armin appeared overhead in the batplane, the bomb doors opened and thousands of swords fell out falling into the back of the Titan's neck.<p>

LAST HIT BONUS appeared over the batplane as the titan evaporated into sparkles. Erin looked at the short sword in his hand to all the far superior swords Armin was literally dropping without a care. "Stupid Haxs."

* * *

><p><strong>5.7<strong>

* * *

><p>The Colossal Titan ascended above the rim of Wall Maria, and in a fit of the impossible, spoke to the inhabitants of Shiganshina. "What's good niggas? This looks like a sand box."<p>

Down on the ground, Eren stared up at the Colossal Titan, speechless. A quick ping destroyed his hope that he had a companion for the loop. Breaking his silence, he simply said, "This is a punishment loop, isn't it?"

Then the loop memories struck.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

* * *

><p>An hour later, Eren was on a slow boat to Trost, sitting next to an Armin that was one part Armin, three parts Hitler, and a Mikasa that seemed to prefer to ignore their familial relationship. Eren didn't blame her: there was a decent chance that they were related, a supposition based solely on the estimated number of men that, this loop at least, his mother had bedded.<p>

Eren himself? Well...

"I am not Hans's son. I am not a ginger. I am Grisha Yeager's son. Everything Hans said was bullshit."

To Eren's credit though, he did have the lucidity to draw some blood and run a few tests to see why his father had needed to give him weekly injections. When the results came back, he was less then pleased. "Damnit. FUCKING DAMNIT!"

Mikasa, unawake naturally, looked at Eren. "What?"

Eren held up a list. "According to this I've contracted syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia trichomoniasis, genital warts, genital herpes, HIV _and_ AIDS, the plague, the chills, the common cold, the uncommon cold, three incredibly rare Chinese diseases that I can't pronounce, bird flu, swine flu, dog flu, cat flu, cat allergies, fish food, butt cancer, Louis Swartz Conundrum, Hitlerism, Titanism, and Mexico."

Mikasa ever so slightly scooted away from Eren. Armin ever so slightly scooted away from Eren. Eren wondered when the loop would end.

* * *

><p><strong>5.8<strong>

* * *

><p>It rose over Wall Maria, a terrifying sight. It looked down on the inhabitants of Shiganshina like a man would look upon an ant. With almost deliberate slowness, it cocked its leg back, and then let it fly.<p>

With an almighty kick, one hundred years of peace was shattered.

* * *

><p>"The Mexicans are coming! The Mexicans are coming!"<p>

"Run! They're going to eat your jobs!"

"Flee for it is the end of times!"

Eren, Armin and Mikasa were staring at the sprinting Caucasians, all running from the sudden onslaught of Hispanic people's. Eren opened his mouth to comment, but no words came out. Armin casually noted that most of the Mexican people were screaming stereotypical Spanish phrases, such as "Por que?", "Dinada", and "Uno, dos, tres". Mikasa was thoughtful, as she contemplated if something similar had happened when her family had arrived.

Finally, as the waves of immigrants began to abate, Eren found his voice. "You know, I never realized how racist our loop was."

Mikasa nodded. "Hange did say that the Titans were just as, if not more, intelligent than we were, and you prove it. We can't understand the Titans, they're being kept out by massive walls, and of course, we don't know they motives, similar to how we wouldn't understand their culture." A Mexican man with a worker's visa ran by. "Lots of parallels to immigration and racism, when you consider that we're a white populace, with a single religion and a monarchy."

"Yup..." Eren clicked his lips. "So, wanna smash Wall Rose and Sina?"

"Oh yeah."

Between them, Armin began to chuckle. Then he began to laugh. Then he fell to the ground, rolling with laughter.

Eren and Mikasa looked at their brother. "What? Something funny?"

Armin pointed at Eren, choking around his laughs. "You're... hehehe, you're the Rogue _Hombre_!"

Eren promptly decided that this loop was going under the, "Never Spoken of Again" file, right next to the Rouge Kangaroo and the Harem loop.

* * *

><p><strong>5.9<strong>

* * *

><p>"Everyone, we have an important announcement."<p>

As Hange called the group to order, Eren finished laying out a collection of pairing blades on a table in the front of the room. As the seven assembled loopers settled into their seats, Hange continued. "I and Eren have brought you here for a moment of great import."

"Get on with it Vitruvius," Sasha called. Hange ignored her and steamed on.

"Following a particularly violent revolution several dozen loops prior to this, Eren contacted me to engage in a series of tests, specifically gauged to determine the exact materials that comprise the so called "pairing blades." Through our careful examination, and then cross examination of several versions of the blades from multiple loops, we have hit upon two specific and common materials that are used as the basis for the blade."

"Come on, hurry up," Connie shouted from his seat.

Hange pointed at the shaven haired boy. "Shut up." Taking two of the blades, Hange held them up. "These two blades represent the most common types of material that compose our weapons. On the left is a blade composed of steel-alloyed tungsten. As you are all aware, our blades need to be composed of exceptionally hard metal, at least at nine on the Mohs scale, so as to both hold their ultra-sharp edge and be able to penetrate the equally tough skin of a Titan."

The penny dropped for Hans. "You mean..."

Hange held up the right most blade. "The more common form of the pairing blade is not composed of tungsten however. In fact, it is composed of a specially hardened organic matter. In the common tongue, this sword is made of hardened Titan flesh."

The room was deathly silent.

Eren took over then. "We've identified a cellular structure within the first form of the blades, which we have come to refer to as the 'primary', or 'type one' blade form. The cells we found within the blades corresponded directly to the cellular structure of Titans. Additional investigation yielded us with the craftsmen in charge of forging the blades, who in turn revealed the methods in which they hardened Titan skin for removal."

Jean jumped to his feet. "Wait, if they can harden a Titan's skin, could you?"

Eren winced and squeezed at his nose. "Unfortunately, no. My Titan form is derived from baseline, and its data in Yggdrasil is corrupted. It changes from loop to loop, and we have yet to discover a method or material that would duplicate the effects outside of its home loop."

Hange set the blades aside. "And that's not mentioning the fact that the type one blades only appear maybe every other loop. It's a situation that is very unscientific."

Eren sighed heavily. "That said, our weapons remain under out control. They aren't going to try and eat you, or turn into a Titan any time soon. So, ideas and strategies."

Armin held up a hand. "Give me and Hans few hours. I think we'll be able to work out a few strategies to incorporate our abilities into these."

Mikasa kicked back, unperturbed by the news. "Well then, we should be on our toes for when this becomes our baseline."

No one spoke. Between the curse and Mikasa's intuition, no one was going to bet against her.

* * *

><p><strong>5.10<strong>

* * *

><p>Eren cracked his knuckles as he stared out over the glistening rooftops of Trost, glaring furiously at the wandering Titans and their ilk, hatred and frustration mixing in his stomach. Growing sick of the view, he stomped down the spine of the roof he, Mikasa, Armin and the rest of the unawake 104th had selected as their meeting point. Mikasa fell into step next to him, a concerned look on her normally emotionless face. "Damn it Mikasa. Of all the loops not to get Titan powers, why did it have to be this one?"<p>

Mikasa patted her brother on the shoulder, trying to stabilize him. "It's bad luck Eren. It happens sometimes."

Eren scowled at the distant wall. "Of all the damn loops..."

Armin glanced up from his map of Trost to comment as his siblings walked past. "Are you sure you guys don't want to hear my plan? I've got it worked out to where we only take five percent casualties."

Eren ignored Armin and Mikasa waved him off politely. "I can't make heads or tails of it Armin. Maybe in a little bit."

Eren growled again, independent of his brother and sister. "No Titan Shifting, no loop powers, no pocket. IF ONLY THIS DAY COULD GET WORSE!" Eren stomped his foot in rage...

...and promptly went straight through the cobblestone roof and into the attic. "FUCK!"

Armin and Mikasa bolted over and pulled their brother out of the hole. Annie, finally having enough of the trio, marched over. "Will you shut up Eren? Your shouting isn't helping any of us, and if you don't think clearly, you'll... you..." Annie trailed off, staring down the hole Eren had created.

Eren glared at Annie with a burning passion. "Leonheart, you can fuck off for all I care. I'll do whatever the hell I want."

Armin wrapped his arms around Eren to try and stabilize him. "Eren..."

"Is that what I think it is?" Annie pointed down into the hole Eren had created. Mikasa, if only to shut Annie up, looked into the hole. A tall metal cylinder glinted faintly in the cloud obscured sun, and took Mikasa's breath away.

Annie hopped into the hole and detached her gas cylinders. A quick search revealed a gas hose connected to the cylinder. Breath baited, Annie pressed the tip to the cap of her cylinder, and nearly cried when she heard the hiss of gas. "Oh my walls... it's... IT'S A GAS TANK! EREN FOUND A GAS TANK!"

The 104th began to walk over... and then run... as the soldiers in training began to realize that somehow, Eren Yeager had found a refueling station. In minutes, individuals starting to make runs for the safety of Wall Rose, screaming in elation as they raced to scale the wall.

As the rooftop emptied though, Eren casually pulled one of his pairing blades out and let it nick Annie. Annie grunted in surprise, but only glared at Eren. "Watch it Yeager. You'll cut someone's head off if you're not careful."

Eren nodded as he noted that Annie's cut didn't immediately heal. "Just a slip."

Mikasa cocked an eyebrow as Annie finished filling her and Bertolt's gas canisters. "Yeah..." Climbing out of the hole, Annie delivered a furtive and slightly worried glance at Eren. "Well... see you on the other side." And with that, Annie, Reiner and Bertolt left the roof, racing for the core of Wall Rose, and leaving their Anchor's behind.

No one spoke as Mikasa filled their gas canisters. No one questioned their luck as they fled from Trost. No one thought of how strange it was that Bertolt, Reiner and Annie weren't shifters.

Everyone's mind was on their pursuit of survival.

* * *

><p><strong>5.11<strong>

* * *

><p>Trost. Sooner or later, they all had to fight in Trost whilst awakening mid-battle. For Sasha, this was going to be fun, given her new powers. It was helpful off the field, but she wanted to put it to the test in a fight. Trost was perfect for it. The loopers all had earbuds that let them communicate thanks to Hange spending a loop as a gadgeteer or something.<p>

"Spuds to Blade Dancer and Explorer; I'm going to use my conduit powers to try and test out what they do against titans."

"Explorer to Spuds: Go ahead, but be warned that you get to explain to Pixis what's happening."  
>"You got it! Spuds out."<p>

She wasn't telling them what she had planned. The loops made death irrelevant, but that didn't change the fear of what she was going to do. Hopefully there was a 7m or 14m class nearby to try this out with. ODMG was good, but the urban movement training Cole gave her and Connie proved incredibly useful, and something she tried to teach her fellow loopers. Turning her head from the side of the building, she saw her target.

"Now then, let's see if this 'grow anywhere' power works with Titans..."

Jumping Sasha jumped down the Titan's throat, using her powers to grow roots and potatoes on the way down, clogging its muscles and providing handholds to stop her descent. The disgusting sauna feel was no issue, as Eren helped them get past it for fighting.

"Spuds to Steamer, Roots Test successful. Feel free to bring Blade Dancer or Rough Rider by to slay the titan at any time."

"Copy Spuds, en route to Rough Rider now. Wish Boffin was here to see how well we're using these."

Sasha held on to her titan-grown potatoes, embedded within the throat of her enemy, awaiting the killing blow that would bring it down.

* * *

><p><strong>5.12 Detective Ethan Redfield<strong>

* * *

><p>Hannes didn't even think as his blade danced over his head, slicing apart entire chunks of Wall Maria as the Colossal Titan destroyed the front gate. He felt as though his mind were steel, like nothing mattered except his purpose. Now that the Carla would survive, for a bit longer anyway, it was time to put the second phase of his plan into action. With several presses of the 3D maneuver gear control device, he launched himself towards the hole in the gate, where Titans were already on their way through the newly formed entrance.<p>

He landed on a rooftop across from the first titan to make it through. His piston fired the grapple hook, which struck right above the hole. He quickly recalled his hook and dropped over the Titan's shoulder, slicing the nape cleanly. A second later, he launched his second piston to the far end of the hole over two more titans' shoulders. His sword whirled around, once again striking true before he emerged from the hole. Spinning in mid air, he re-oriented himself to face the top of the wall and fired his hook again, pulling him on top of the wall.

The cannon operators were stunned into silence at his sudden arrival, but Hannes quickly took command of the situation, "Aim for the head, center of the forehead. You might be able to knock them over and buy us some time to rally. If we can hold them here at the hole, we can save the wall."

The two operators suddenly seemed less scared, more resolute. Hannes watched as their first shot missed slightly, meaning they were probably still drunk, but sober enough to almost hit a target from 100 meters.

With that, Hannes reached into his uniform, then, once his hand was out of sight, into his subspace pocket and pulled out his flare gun. It was pre-loaded in preparation for just this loop as he aimed skyward and fired. A single, purple line of smoke trailed into the air, drawing the attention of every garrison member in the city. He returned the gun to his subspace pocket and drew his wand, muttering a sonorus spell, "**Members of Wall Maria, the front gate has been breached. Civilians are advised to evacuate the city to Wall Rose. Garrison soldiers who are not helping civilians evacuate, report to the supply depot at once.**"

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, over a hundred soldiers were loitering about the supply depot, all muttering in defeated tones about how humanity is finished and the Titans would kill them all. Hannes walked through the soldiers to the center of the plaza and shouted, "Soldiers of Zhiganshina, I look into your eyes and see humanity has already lost. We will all die here."<p>

The soldier's expressions turned to despair, only for Hannes to glare at every soldier in the area, "Yes, we will all die. All your wives and husbands. Your sons, daughters, your friends, everyone you have ever met and known! Our city has been breached, but we are not dead! We still live! Your loved ones are still alive! What will you do now?"

Someone shouted, "We take our families and flee to Wall Rose! Where we'll live!"

Hannes' eyes rested on that man, "Yes, you will live for a little longer. But Wall Rose cannot support you. Your families will burden the rest of humanity. We will all slowly starve to death in a back alley as the current population cannot be supported by the two remaining walls. They will reject you, send you back out to reclaim Maria and your families will die trying. The needs of the many will outweigh the needs of the few and, to survive, humanity will do what it believes it must."

Hannes looked around at the men, his words taking hold in their minds as resolution began to build in his men. The blonde haired soldier continued, "But _you_, soldiers of Zhiganshina, will survive and live with the shame of abandoning your families to your fate. Can you live with yourselves when your families die, with your shame?"

Every soldier was staring at Hannes as he finalized his speech, "If we stand here, and hold back the Titans and not surrender the wall, we may yet save humanity. But it will cost you everything. It will cost you your lives. I ask you not to die in shame from abandoning your families, or die when Rose turns us away. I ask you to stand together and die for your loved ones here. In the _face_ of despair, we will lift the _torch_ of human will. Let us ride swift and sure into battle against our captors. Let every man, woman and child look back on this day and know, _This_ is where we fought, _this _is where we _died_! Let them not remember we died as cowards do, running away, but as heroes for our loved ones and saviors of humanity! Who will fight with me!"

A few seconds passed, then one soldier stepped forward, "I will fight with you."

Another soldier stepped forward a moment later. "As will I."

Slowly, the sentiment spread outward from the center of the plaza, as every soldier arose from their spots and stood at attention, all prepared to die for their loved ones. Hannes walked among the men, patting them on their shoulders, speaking a soft thank you to each one.

* * *

><p>Reiner didn't know what hit him as several Garrison soldiers gave chase after them, a particularly annoying blonde one at the front. The Blonde one seemed almost indestructible. He swung a punch at the guy, but he just kept disappearing in a flash of blue light before his punch would strike, then reappearing after his attack missed. He had killed a dozen soldiers already, but this one just wouldn't die. Eventually, he just gave up and blitzed towards the gate separating Zhiganshina from the land between Maria and Rose. Several cannons had taken position and were laying down a rather furious bombardment, but the Titan shifter made it through, crushing through the gate. And then, just after his successful breach, several cannons started bombarding the remnants of the wall, tearing more and more out of the wall until a pile of rubble had filled the hole.<p>

* * *

><p><em>*Flashback*<em>

* * *

><p>"Once the Civilians are evacuated, we can work on clearing out a path to the main gate of Wall Maria. There, we can collapse the rest of the wall with our cannons, sealing the breach for good. Although the Colossal Titan has disappeared, we cannot be sure he won't reappear and make his way through the town to breach the second wall. Half the remaining cannons must be moved to outside Wall Maria to permanently seal the town, just in case," said Hannes to the captain commanding the cannon crews.<p>

* * *

><p><em>*End Flashback*<em>

* * *

><p>To add insult to injury, those same soldiers had caught up with Reiner and were even now trying to hit his nape. Reiner decided escape was the better part of valor and raced for a nearby forest where he could change back to human form and blend in with the retreating survivors of the fallen district.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>5.13<strong>

* * *

><p>Hanji usually began his loops asleep, pleasantly unconscious. It was a treat for her to do so: apparently Awakening asleep was uncommon. It made him feel all warm and giddy to Wake Up unconscious. A warm bed and sweet dreams was what she needed.<p>

But alas, he was needed, and so Hanji roused herself, fully awakening in both senses of the word. With a great "Yaaawwwww," Hanji stretched his jaws almost their breaking point just to yawn. Scratching her side, the perpetually genderless mad scientist groped for his glasses, and stepped off the bed.

At that moment, the door to the bunk room banged open, a man slumping against the wall. Hanji barely registered the man who had fallen into the room was Levi before she was at his side, trying to bring him back to his senses. "Levi? Levi!?"

Leviathan Ackerman blinked hard and seemed to register that Hanji was in the room with him. A look of indescribable fear, mixed with incomprehensible hope, broke across his face. "Han... Hanji... I... I..."

Hanji righted his friend. "Levi, what do you need?"

Levi stared at Hanji through crystal crimson eyes, sharpened fangs slipping past his lips. "I need... BLOOD!"

* * *

><p><strong>5.1: Crank it like a chainsaw!<strong>

**5.2: Don't think too hard about it.**

**5.3: They'll be infamous!**

**5.4: Welcome to the loops Hange… or is it Hanji?**

**5.5: Carla… poor woman. She has Trisha Elric's voice, don't you know? Doomed from the beginning.**

**5.6: Life is like one big game.**

**5.7: A Slap on the Infinite Loops.**

**5.8: It's an interesting parallel, in my mind. It helps that everyone's a moron in this loop.**

**5.9: I'm calling it here: Soylent Green is people! …no wait… The Swords are made from Titans!**

**5.10: More than a few secrets hidden in this loop…**

**5.11: Call signs: Spuds: Sasha. Steamer: Connie. Rough Rider: Jean. Blade Dancer: Mikasa. Explorer: Armin. Boffin: Hange/Hanji. Bulwark: Han/Hannes. Mr. Clean: Levi. Suicide: Eren. Jotun: Ymir. Purple: Historia. Ghost: Marco.**

**5.12: …admit it, that speech was fucking badass. It's a crowning moment of awesome.**

**5.13: BLOOD!**


End file.
